Maine’s lowbush blueberries deserve high praise | Letter

A recent report (“5 places to pick blueberries west of Portland this summer,” July 22) contained some misleading information.

In the first paragraph: “Mainers are proud of their state’s blueberries. That pride runs even deeper when they’ve picked them themselves.” This is indeed true. But the pride Mainers show when speaking of their state’s blueberries is the pride referring to Maine’s wild blueberry crop, a crop that brings in about $360 million in revenue each year.

It is great to know about local farms offering blueberry picking, but the farms listed refer to highbush berries, not the lowbush berries that Maine is famous for. Maine is the largest geographic producer of wild blueberries in the world.

As a multi-year wild blueberry raker in my youth — and my son doing the same 31 years later — we proudly claim this crop as a unique industry in Maine. In my years as a staff member in public schools in Southern Maine, I frequently taught the history (and, some would say, advantage) of wild blueberries over cultivated blueberries and how they contribute to our economy. Most students were surprised to learn the facts.

So, let’s hear it for the wild blueberries. Everyone visiting our state should know that as delightful as the cultivated highbush berry may be, it is not the berry that we claim to fame.

Lucy Webb Hardy
Wells

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