As the calendar turns to August, forest managers in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest want to remind those planning to collect huckleberries and wild berries that a permit is required to remove berries from the forest.
A free-use permit, which permits holders to collect up to 1 gallon of berries in a day and three gallons in a year, is available at https://gp.fs2c.usda.gov/gp/. Permit holders are asked to print their permit or save it to a mobile device, along with conditions for use and a map of the locations open to free-use berry collection.
Personal use permit pickers are also asked to record their harvest on a permit sheet when they collect berries.
Several areas in the national forest remain off limits for berry harvesting, including:
• The legislated Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
• All legislated wildernesses
• The “handshake agreement” area of the Sawtooth Berry Fields that is set aside for Tribes.
Beginning on Aug. 12, commercial berry use permits will be available at the Randle, Amboy and Trout Lake ranger offices. For more information and hours of operation, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/gp/officehours.
Commercial permits cost $60 and allow picking on 14 consecutive days and up to 40 gallons of berries. For $105, commercial permit holders can collect up to 70 gallons of berries.
Rakes or mechanical devices are not permitted. A map for areas open to commercial picking is available at https://tinyurl.com/sh5uesb8.
Permittees can camp for up to 14 days, but not within any area closed to commercial collection. Commercial picking is not allowed in the Pole Patch Non-Commercial Harvesting Area.
Berry buyers and sellers must document their sales transactions under Washington law.
Garbage and human waste must be contained and removed from the forest.
