I think commercial picking of anything in the nf should be illegal!
exactly 100%
I don't... to me this is the same as saying that commercial crabbing or fishing should be illegal in US waters. Or that timber harvest should be illegal in NF (which we need more of). Part of what makes Public Land so valuable is that it has an economic value whether we like it our not and a recreational value. And some public land has more restrictive use, like Indian Heaven where commercial harvest was never allowed.
It's a renewable resources that is hard to replicate on private ground. It does support a lot of local business. Although I may wish there was not the need for commercial harvest for huckleberries, I understand why there is.
I would think of out of the box ideas like setting up Huckleberry Management Zones similar to a GMU for hunting or marine area for fishing could be interesting. You could set season restrictions, access restrictions, etc while still providing an opportunity for all. Of course it will have some of the same battles we have fishing and the cries of over harvest by commercial pickers but it sets up some better boundaries.
Examples of HMZs Restrictions:
These units are flat closed to commercial harvest
These units are only open to commercial harvest on odd years
Commercial harvest is allowed from August 15 to August 31.
These units are closed to all huckleberry harvest (the plants need a break from any harvest like are fishing or hunting does at times)
Even number HMZs are open to commercial harvest on even years
It goes on and on what you could do with HMZs but its just an idea.
Apples and oranges. Simply put management structure is ony as good as the plan (which there is not anything that resembles a strategic plan) and the enforcement of the structure(which others have already reported observations). Commercial use is not only loosely regulated, it has zero oversight. The operations I've seen have been messy and destructive. There is a little respite in recovery due to limited effort overall but I'd rather see it closed until they have a more fleshed out plan.
I largely agree with your assessment
@Tbar. I agree what is in place is messed up and not functional for the resource. Over harvest, raking, trash, less opportunity for recreation, etc. I don't agree that we should ban commercial harvest or make it illegal but instead should give input on best management of a resource. Lets make a plan. We have a comment period to voice that there is no plan and no proposed regulations. With this comment period we have an opportunity to give input on what that plan should look like before they make up their own that we are really upset about too. Hence as an example of proposed regulation would be the "HMZs". Could also suggest to raise fees on Commercial Licenses to pay for check stations (ie mandatory that commercial users bring their bounty to a NF headquarter like checking in when you get to port) or resources to "police" the commercial harvest like we do with fishing or timber. Increased or add a fee for Non-residents ... I don't like adding fees for anyone also to be clear. I'm not saying I have the answer by any means, I'm more opening a dialogue for if we were to have commercial harvest of Huckleberries on NF (which we should like we have commercial fishing and commercial timber harvest on public lands) what would that best look like and what would it take to get there?
I really don't want everything to be about money either but it's an unfortunate answer. Again probably nothing I would ever say out load but here and in this discussion ... maybe there is a $5 permit for recreational harvest too that pays for enforcement and regulation of all. Along with a increase to commercial harvest permits at $1-2/gal. (I chose that range because 3 gallons in this example is costing me $5 so straight line would be $1.67/gal for commercial permits). We pay for fishing license. I pay $5 every year to go cut a tree down. Me as a recreational user picking huckleberries am getting something largely for free (outside of federal taxes). Again I hate a pay to play for anything mentality but would also through down $5 for a "foraging" permit. That's me though and I already know a vast majority (maybe?) would loose their mine if they had to pay even $5 to go recreationally pick huckleberries. Though if $5 made the experience that much more enjoyable because there wasn't trash and there was berries to be found would you complain a little less?
Currently it is Apples and Oranges, what a commercial fisherman or timber harvest person can do or not do versus what a commercial Huckleberry picker can and can't do. Can we make it apples to apples and what would that take? What would that look like? What would we be ok with?
