[MPWG] Several meetings and info

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

This information was forwarded to me by a colleague.  Some of the meetings
have already passed but the information is still useful.


Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>

-----

Just wanted to make you all aware of an exciting new website and several
important conferences coming up.

Medicinal Herb Website
A website was recently launched that contains detailed information on
medicinal herbs for health professionals, consumers, and growers.  We
welcome you to visit this site at http://ncmedicinalherbs.org.  Please take
a minute to fill out the on-line survey and give us feedback about the
site.
This site is a project of the North Carolina Consortium on Natural
Medicines, a program led by faculty at the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University and supported by
the GoldenLEAF Foundation.

Medicinal Herb Sessions at Sustainable Agriculture Conference
The Sustainable Agriculture Conference will hold a track on medicinal herbs
on Saturday, November 13th.  Featured speakers and topics include Jackie
Greenfield, N.C. State University, on field grown herbs; Corinna Wood, Red
Moon Herbs, on edible & medicinal weeds and making herbal medicines, and
Jeanine Davis, N.C. State University, on forest herbs.  The conference,
sponsored by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, will be held Nov.
12-14,
at the Holiday Inn Sunspree in Asheville, NC.  More information and a
registration form can be found at http://carolinafarmstewards.org.

Rules and Permits for Ginseng and Goldenseal
An informal meeting about North Carolina rules and permits pertaining to
growing threatened, endangered, and special concern plants, such as ginseng
and goldenseal, will be held at 5:45 pm on Saturday, November 13th in
Dogwood room #1 at the Holiday Inn Sunspree in Asheville, NC.  This is your
opportunity to provide feedback on the current system and offer ways to
improve it.  The Sustainable Agriculture Conference organizers are
graciously letting us hold this meeting in conjunction with the conference.
We hope that you will register for the conference and attend many of the
sessions, but registration will not be required to attend this one meeting
(conference nametags are required to attend all other conference meetings
and functions).  Rob Evans, the new plant ecologist with the N.C.
Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Jeanine Davis, horticulturist
with
N.C. State University, will lead the meeting. For more information, contact
Jeanine Davis at Jeanine_Davis at ncsu.edu.

Medicinal Herb and Natural Products Presentations at Expo
Jackie Greenfield, N.C. State University, will share the results of a
project in which 16 North Carolina farmers produced and sold medicinal
herbs
in 2004. Funded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, this project has
shown the industry that we can produce high yields of quality herbs and
opened the door for more herb production in the state.  Dr. David Peele,
with Avoca, Inc., will describe the natural products extraction business
and
explain what it takes to produce raw materials for the industry.  Both of
these presentations will be offered on Thursday, December 2nd in the
Specialty Crops session of the Southeast Vegetable and Fruit Expo at the
Hilton Hotel in Greenville, NC.  For more information and a registration
form, visit http://www.ncvga.com.

Growing North Carolina's Natural Products Economy Conference
Scheduled for March 4th and 5th, 2005 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville,
this conference will be full of information for everyone associated with
the
industry including growers, researchers, and health professionals.  Richo
Cech, of Horizon Herbs in Oregon, will be our keynote speaker.  In addition
to sessions on growing, harvesting, propagating, and marketing medicinal
herbs, there will a new track devoted to medical issues and an improved
research poster session.  More information will be posted soon at
http://ncnaturalproducts.org.  This will be the second conference sponsored
by the N.C. Natural Products Association.

Jeanine Davis


Jeanine M. Davis
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
N.C. Specialty Crops Program Coordinator
Dept. of Horticultural Science, NC State University
Mtn Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center
455 Research Drive, Fletcher, NC 28732
Phone: 828-684-3562   FAX: 828-684-8715
Email: Jeanine_Davis at ncsu.edu
Websites:  http://ncherb.org  http://ncspecialtycrops.org
http://ncorganic.org  http://ncmedicinalherbs.org