Gifford Pinchot National Forest officials will sell commercial huckleberry permits beginning Monday.
Forest officials say pickers should be aware that because of late snow melt and cool weather, berries in many places might not be ripe until later in the season.
Huckleberry harvest for personal use remains free and no permit is required. Personal use consists of three gallons of huckleberries per person per year.
All people harvesting more than three gallons, or selling any quantity, must obtain a commercial huckleberry permit. These permits are available at ranger districts and the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument headquarters.
Commercial permits will be priced at $40 per permit for 14 days, or $75 for a season.
The permits include camping conditions that require all garbage and human waste to be contained and removed from National Forest land. Campers can stay a maximum of 14 days per site.
Rakes or mechanical devices for berry harvest are not permitted because they might damage plants.
Under state law, commercial buyers and sellers of huckleberries must register their sales transactions.
For more details, visit the “Passes & Permits” page at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest website, fs.usda.gov/giffordpinchot.
Berries can be harvested from most anywhere in the forest.
Some areas closed to both commercial harvest and berry removal for personal use include the legislated Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, legislated Wilderness and the “Handshake Agreement” area of Sawtooth Berry Fields.
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