BONNERS FERRY — U.S. Forest Service law enforcement seized over 100 gallons of illegally harvested huckleberries in a remote area of the Boundary County wilderness last week.

Authorities believe the individuals responsible are undocumented migrants from Guatemala who fled U.S. Border Patrol custody during a traffic stop in Boundary County on July 18. The seizure of the ill-gotten berries took place July 24.

The operation was a joint effort involving the U.S. Forest Service, Boundary County Sheriff’s Office and Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Police Department. According to BCSO officials, the seized berries will be donated to a local food bank. 

“We thank the Boundary County Sheriff's Office and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho for this joint operation that successfully halted an illegal commercial picking operation,” Idaho Panhandle National Forest officials wrote in a statement to the Herald. “Local communities have been requesting this kind of enforcement in recent years due to a surge in out-of-state commercial picking groups unlawfully harvesting large quantities of berries, and frequently creating a public safety concern for local recreational pickers. We look forward to continuing this partnership to ensure our public lands are managed in a sustainable way for current and future generations.” 

Boundary County Sheriff Travis Stolley said that as the number of recreational pickers in the area increases, so does the potential for conflict — from trashed campsites to drawn weapons. With only one full-time USFS law enforcement officer assigned to patrol the county’s vast forestlands, local deputies received federal overtime funding to assist in the joint backcountry patrol. 

“We encourage the Forest Service to enforce the law because commercial picking has gone unchecked for a long time,” Stolley said. “We just did an emphasis patrol to make sure people were aware of the laws while recreating.” 

BCSO Det. Nick Delavan said that after making close to 30 contacts July 24 with recreational pickers, he and other local, Tribal and USFS law enforcement officers spotted three individuals in the woods down by a creek with approximately 100 gallons of huckleberries, as well as rakes, leaf blowers and large buckets. There were also many damaged leaves and bushes. 

“We can tell who’s out there picking huckleberries and who’s out there up to no good,” Delavan said. “We saw basically all the signs of a commercial operation.” 

USFS and USBP officials declined to comment on the suspects’ status, citing the ongoing investigation. 

    Law enforcement officials look over an area where more than 100 gallons of illegally harvested huckleberries were seized in a remote area of the Boundary County on July 24.