The below-average Fernie huckleberry crop is being described by experienced local pickers as the worst in 25 years, with unfavourable weather believed to have reduced insect activity and limited pollination.

Many familiar berry patches around Fernie are producing considerably fewer huckleberries than usual. The shortage is a sharp contrast to last season’s super crop, which provided plentiful natural food and coincided with lower-than-average bear activity in town.

Huckleberry production depends heavily on successful pollination during the spring flowering period. Local observations suggest weather conditions affected bee and other insect populations when the plants were flowering, resulting in fewer berries developing this summer.

The crop can vary by elevation, slope and moisture, but longtime pickers are reporting consistently low production across many of their regular locations.

Huckleberries are an important summer and fall food for black bears and grizzly bears as they build the energy reserves needed for winter. With fewer berries available in the surrounding mountains, bears may travel farther in search of food, potentially increasing activity around Fernie’s garbage, fruit trees, compost and other attractants this fall.

Recognizing the unusually limited food supply, many regular Fernie berry pickers have chosen not to harvest huckleberries this season, leaving the remaining berries for the bears.

editor