The Ḱamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation has wanted an end to commercial picking of a critical cultural resource for years.

The evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum, is turning purple all over Washington’s coastal regions but perhaps nowhere more than the Key Peninsula, where berry culture goes back decades.

But evergreen huckleberry fruit is less desirable. The berries’ skin is tougher, and their juices less flavorful. By early September, the berry season was starting to wane. Maple leaves in the ...