(Embedded image moved to file: pic18190.gif)The New York Times
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May 3, 2005
Demand for Wild Leek Prompts Harvest Limit
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:20 a.m. ET
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Demand for ramps -- a wild leek prized for its
strong flavor -- is expanding far from the mountains, propelled by a craze
for regional and seasonal food. So great is the appeal that officials are
trying to limit the annual harvest.
Beginning next year, civic groups that pick wild ramps in the Nantahala
National Forest for use in spring festivals will have to abide by new
Forest Service rules that dictate where and how to pick the plants as well
as levy a 50-cent-a-pound fee. The forest is in far southwestern North
Carolina.
The reason for the change: The government worries that big digs of ramps
are straining natural populations. A Forest Service researcher eager to
help preserve the festivals is accompanying the civic groups on this
year's digs to get a better handle on the true toll from their hauls.
''If we don't figure out a way to manage them, they'll be gone,''
researcher Jim Chamberlain said. ''If there are no more ramps, there will
be no more ramp festivals.''
People in North Carolina still hike miles to pick enough ramps -- which
taste like a mix of garlic and scallions -- for special suppers during the
four weeks or so that the plants show themselves each spring.
In addition to other rules, the Forest Service says groups digging for
festivals will not be allowed to take more than half of the plants they
find in every square foot of a ramp patch.
Volunteer firehouses, rescue squads and civic groups have long staged
annual ramp festivals to raise money for community causes. Organizers of
the biggest festivals collectively pick more than 3,000 pounds of ramps
each year, Chamberlain estimates. It takes 40 to 80 plants to make a
pound.
Ramps range naturally from Canada to North Georgia and west to Missouri
and Minnesota. In Southern Appalachia, ramps are found in rich moist cove
hardwood forests, and prefer elevations above 3,500 feet.
But demand for ramps is expanding far from the mountains, fueled by a
desire for fresh, interesting ingredients. Martha Stewart gushes over
ramps. Urban dwellers look for them in upscale produce markets and in chic
restaurants.
In 2002, ramps became so popular that the National Park Service banned
ramp collecting in the Great Smoky Mountains for fear they would be
harvested out of existence.
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On the Net:
http://www.wild-leeks.com
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