Pinecone pickers reap local harvest

Bags of pine cones await pickup after recent harvest along local highways and byways. Photo by Tom Chace

Ten to 12 semi-truck loads of local pinecones are shipped from here each year to wholesale warehouses for sorting and re-shipment to floral shops and other outlets throughout the United States. Now is the heart of the harvest season.

"We get 25 cents a bushel for the cones, about 10 percent of the wholesale price" said Alan Heath, special forest products manager for the Sisters Ranger Station. "We usually figure that the white bags you see along the highways equal 1-1/2 bushels and the black garbage type bags are two bushels.

"That brings into the national treasury between $3,000 and $4,000 annually," he said. "Just from this area."

The Sisters Ranger District covers part of the Deschutes National Forest and issues "pinecone picking" permits locally. The office is located at the corner of Cascade Avenue and Pine Street.

This year produced the biggest crop in the 13 years Heath has been on the job.

"The picker gets only about a penny and a half per cone, and the wholesaler gets $2.50 per bushel.

"A hard worker can make $10 an hour harvesting," Heath said. "But a picker has to be in great shape to do that all day, every day. It is really tough on the leg and back muscles," he said.

"The cones have prickles so gloves are mandatory."

The ponderosa cones from around Sisters are in special demand because of their unique, reddish color.

"Florists pay a premium for the perfectly formed ones with the unusual color," Heath said.

The coniferous evergreen trees produce this usable crop in a benign manner, bringing an income to the Forest Service with virtually no cost and the end result creates a handsome floral arrangement from this industry harmless to the environment.

A check of wholesale prices on the internet ran from two for $1 ("5 inch, large") to 5 cents each in quantities of 50 or more plus shipping.

"We believe that pinecones from Sisters are found all over the United States in florist shops and that some are also ground or split apart as part of a potpourri mix," Heath said.

Other uses include fire starters and indoor plant coverings.

"Our only concern is that those who do the harvesting keep our forests as clean as when they entered and that the workers restrict their smoking. Also, we insist that they respect private property and get permission from the landowner if they work outside our forest boundaries," Heath said

Ponderosa cones are usually three to five inches long.

Many of the local "pickers" are transients who come through here each year, working on their own. They then sell their pickings to a wholesaler.

There are also wholesalers who have their own crews paying an incentive wage per bag.

"The longer and harder a man (we saw no women doing this job) works, the more he makes. That's why you see them from sunup to sundown, seven days a week. It is brutal work," Heath said.

The obvious reason that harvesting takes place along our highways and access roads is to ease pickup of the filled bags.

"They are not light and carrying them long distances after a day of bending and stuffing is to be avoided at all cost," he said.

"This is really a 'win-win-win' situation for all concerned," Heath added.