North Idaho Huckleberry Picking

Huckleberries are a culturally significant resource for the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, as well as for many residents of Boundary County.  In recent years, concerns have grown over increased harvesting pressure, particularly from non-residents, which has led to instances of overharvesting.

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Currently, both the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and the Kootenai National Forest do not have personal use limits for huckleberry harvesting.  This lack of restriction can confuse, especially since the sale or purchase of huckleberries for commercial purposes is prohibited.

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Additionally, it is illegal to damage or remove huckleberry bushes. This includes uprooting entire plants and placing them in containers such as kiddie pools to strip berries, a practice that has been noticed by several Tribal members and further underscores the importance of this ongoing research project.

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The Kootenai Tribe began a huckleberry harvest study 7 years ago. Data from certain years were not included in the study due to incomplete data collection. The goal of this effort is to explore different harvesting techniques and assess their impact on berry production within the Bonners Ferry Ranger District.

Presently there are 15 designated survey sites located across the Bonners Ferry Ranger District.  At each site, 30 huckleberry bushes are monitored and divided into three groups: 10 control bushes (no harvesting), 10 bushes harvested by hand, and 10 bushes harvested using a rake.  Before any harvesting, a pre-harvest assessment is conducted.  This includes counting all berries on each bush, both ripe and unripe (green), to establish a baseline.  After this assessment, berries are harvested according to the assigned method for that group.

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When evaluating harvest efficiency between hand-picking and raking methods, the results indicate a statistically significant difference in favor of hand-picking.  Using the hand method, harvesters achieved a 99% efficiency rate for ripe berries, while only 1% of the harvested berries were green.  In contrast, the rake method yielded an 88% harvest rate for ripe berries but also resulted in the unintended collection of 12% green berries.  These findings suggest that hand-picking is not only more efficient for harvesting ripe berries and doesn’t damage the bush but also significantly reduces the unintentional harvest of unripe (green) berries.

Importantly, the study found that neither harvesting method (hand nor rake) had a measurable effect on overall berry production, suggesting that when done thoughtfully, both techniques can be used without long-term harm to the resource.

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The primary goal of this project is to support the Tribe and broader community in addressing the growing concern around commercial huckleberry harvesting in the region.  Commercial picking has become a significant issue, and the Tribe is working to use the results of this study to help inform strategies to reduce its impact.

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In collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bonners Ferry Ranger District, efforts are underway to advocate for the implementation of a personal use limit for the Idaho Panhandle, similar to policies in place in other regions.  In addition, the Tribe has increased public outreach through improved signage and is coordinating with law enforcement partners, including Border Patrol, Boundary Land Management (BLM), and other supporting agencies, to enhance patrols and monitoring during huckleberry season.  There is also interest in exploring the possibility of restricting raking on certain lands, following the example set by Washington State on some of their federal and state-managed areas.