NTFP laws, regulation, and policy: what are the goals and how does it all work? Huckleberry Summit, Pack Forest June Susan J. Alexander, PhD US Forest Service, Alaska Region

What are some of the laws, regulations, and policies affecting huckleberry harvesting? The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (Title VIII; subsistence). PL (Nov ): Pilot program of charges and fees for harvest of forest botanical products (affects the Forest Service). State laws regarding harvest, possession, and transport. Other Federal and state laws affecting forest management and public access.

Let’s assume “management” is a primary goal. Does that mean management of forests? Or people? A focus on identified and significant NTFPs for enhancement, protection, or production is not common in the US or Canada. More commonly, the focus is on managing and regulating access; physical access (road closures, gates); and legal access (permits, treaties, regulation).

Permits and regulations are used to establish who can harvest, where, and when. Exclusive rights: often area-based policies, contracts, or leases. More common with predictable products, eg shrubs or boughs, products harvested in large amounts or primarily for commercial use, such as salal, or with high-value resources. More common on private lands or public lands with private characteristics (State trust lands in the US).

Nonexclusive rights are often permits granted for a specific area to anyone. Common for products with low predictability, harvested in small amounts with long traditions of personal and cultural use, low value, or in places where exclusion would be costly and the benefits low. This type of access is most frequently used on public lands.

…other access management characteristics. Entry or time may be limited, by size of product, season, permit duration, or by how many harvesters are allowed on an area. Prices and payment can function as access restrictions. Many features are specific to the NTFP being managed.

Some management focuses on enhancing NTFP production - most studies examine diversity in response to management actions like overstory removal or fertilization Wild edible mushrooms, US/Canadian west Huckleberries, US Pacific Northwest and eastern US Moss and lichen, US/Canadian west Floral greens, US/Canadian west

In the US, access rights are becoming increasingly formalized. A harvesting permit is required for transporting certain amounts of material on highways in several states. Several states charge for commercial gathering permits on state land. Many private landowners also regulate commercial gathering (with varied success). The US Forest Service is required to charge market rates and has set up appraisal systems. The BLM has been appraising NTFPs for some time.

Can access be effectively controlled? Ballard (2004) found on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, the lack of “well enforced, consistent tenure regimes” on some ownerships has resulted in a de facto open access environment. In Central Oregon, a mushroom picker permitting system has been in effect for over 15 years – managed access. In BC, access management is considered unnecessary or impossible to enforce. These challenges are a defining characteristic of NTFPs situated within a broader timber management regime and societal expectations.

Formalization or elimination of access can ignore long-standing customary claims or rights Highly mobile groups of native people historically had structured sets of informal rules and traditions dictating where, when, and who harvested NTFP. Highly mobile commercial harvesters now move throughout North America, through various tenure regimes, overlapping with personal use harvesters. In B.C., many harvesters assume access as a traditional right.

Many questions remain unanswered, and perhaps have no answer. Do the benefits of managing exceed the costs - administratively and socially? Can or should management of NTFPs be introduced or increased respecting traditional and existing users, or will some be displaced?

And finally…more questions Can management provide incentives to invest in and sustain resources, while protecting user values? Do all NTFPs need an increase in, or any, management? What role should various actors (agencies, First Nations, industry, harvesters) play in the management effort?