Effects of Changing Fire Regimes on Black Huckleberry Habitat Suitability

Black huckleberries are a significant cultural, ecological, and economic species in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, black huckleberries were tended with cultural fire by Indigenous peoples, and now also hold importance as a resource in the non-timber forest product economy. Research has begun on the impacts of climate change on suitable black huckleberry habitat and on changing fire regimes, but not in relation to each other. To address this gap, I examined the area of overlap between suitable black huckleberry habitat and fire burn probability into mid-century climate projections. I determined the current ownership entities with management jurisdiction in areas with suitable black huckleberry habitat and increasingly frequent fire to infer implications on changes to access into the mid-century. I found that suitable black huckleberry habitat is shrinking by 30%-49% in WA and OR. In projected remaining habitat, frequent fire is increasing from 22%-56% of suitable habitat by mid-century. The jurisdiction over these areas will primarily be held by the US Forest Service by mid-century. The reducing habitat and increasing frequency of fire may have major effects on the ability for Indigenous harvesters to access black huckleberry for subsistence as a reserved treaty right. Adaptive and collaborative management of the remaining suitable black huckleberry habitat is necessary to ensure access and ecological resilience of black huckleberry in mid-century.