Huckleberries bountiful

Car troubles and dry conditions limited Ross Stapley’s 2007 huckleberry harvest to 1.5 gallons.

The second week into the season, Stapley had already picked 44 gallons of berries, which he sells for $35 each.

Huckleberry pickers have told The Herald this is turning into a banner year for the state fruit of Idaho.

“I’ve heard people say they’re picking them all over,” said Joanne Erickson, secretary and program director for Boundary County Extension Office in Bonners Ferry.

In northwest Montana, it’s turning out to be a bumper-crop summer for huckleberries. Local buyers and pickers are saying it may be one of the best harvests in recent years. There are even signs that bears may see it that way, too.

And that’s roughly just three weeks into a season that likely will extend several more weeks at higher elevations.

Stapley suspects that last winter’s near record snow fall and the cool, moist spring helped this year’s crop.

“We haven’t had any moisture (in a few months),” Stapley said.

The manager at the Carriage House Inn in Bonners Ferry, Stapley said he has seen better years for huckleberries, like in 1998.

“I cleaned and sold 206 (gallon) sacks in 25 days,” he said.

On a scale of one to 10, Stapley gives this year’s huckleberry crop an 8 compared to the last few years.

Stapley began picking huckleberries nearly three weeks ago. A professional berry picker for 19 years, he has found them at 3,000 to 3,500 feet in the areas Camp Nine, Snow Creek, Cunuck Basin and Deer Ridge.

At Elmira Store, employees have had to turn away folks attempting to sell their huckleberries. A sign on the door says no berries will be purchased for two weeks.

“”We’ve had people in with two to three gallons at a time,” said Jenny Konkle, office manager at the Elmira Store on Highway 95.

Elmira Store pays $20 a gallon for huckleberries, which are used in their milkshakes and pancakes.