Tribally set burns that maintained the huckleberry fields became illegal. Hemlock and fir trees began to grow. Around the early 1900s, when the River People returned to the berry fields ...

And what those burns do and did was clear the fields of trees and also enrich the soil. The huckleberry, like all flowering plants, needs enough sunlight and water to blossom and produce fruit ...

A Handshake Basket, 2025. Archival pigment print photo collage, 14 x 14 inches. Images used: Elaine Harvey, Epiphany Couch, Gifford Pinchot National Forest Archive. Credit: Epiphany Couch/High ...

The Ḱamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation has wanted an end to commercial picking of a critical cultural resource for years. Finally, the Forest Service is expected to make a decision.