[MPWG] poaching, etc.

[C Prakash Kala]

Dear McGraw, 

You have provided some very useful information about the ginseng, its poaching by harvesters and deer browsing. I think that developing a key in order to identify the differences between ginseng harvesting by poachers and browsing by deer will be a useful tool for setting a further conservation policies.

With best wishes,
Chandra Prakash Kala
Uttaranchal, India 


On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 Jim McGraw wrote :
>I am glad to see the issue of poaching in parks continues to
>stimulate interest in ginseng population biology.  As part of our
>extensive monitoring efforts, we are examining park populations.  I
>would caution everyone who goes looking for ginseng in the fall that
>if it is missing from a place where it was formerly present, one
>should not necessarily jump to the conclusion that it has been
>poached by human harvesters.  As my ex-graduate student, Mary Ann
>Furedi, showed in her careful observations, overabundant deer are
>quite likely to be the cause in many cases.  Some of her populations
>were 100% browsed in certain years in certain populations, by August.
>In the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge, that source of ginseng
>disappearance would not surprise me.  The careful work of park
>personnel in the Smokies with labeled roots illustrates that illegal
>harvest, too, can be a source of the disappearance, as some of those
>roots have shown up at dealers.
>
>As a slight correction to Bob Beyfuss' comments about our research,
>what we have shown with modeling simulations is that a ginseng
>steward who DOES NOT HARVEST and PLANTS ALL SEEDS OF EXISTING
>REPRODUCTIVE ADULTS 1 INCH DEEP can ultimately grow a population by
>up to 30% per year (1.3-fold increase per year).  Over time, such a
>population steward could create quite a large population of native
>genotypes.  This would be a good thing; perhaps this discussion can
>stimulate some of you to engage in this truly beneficial act of
>stewardship!  As a conservation biologist, I do have concerns about
>planting cultivated stock in wild lands, and unfortunately, massive
>seed planting efforts, at present, could only be done with cultivated
>stock since so few local seed sources have been developed.  I have no
>problem with landowners engaging in wild-simulated ginseng growing,
>but this activity could benefit greatly by development of local seed
>sources so the genetic integrity of nearby wild populations is
>maintained.  It seems to me this offers a business opportunity for
>rural landowners in two respects: (1) becoming seed sellers with
>local 'varietal' ginseng seeds, and (2) developing 'branding'
>opportunities for local genotypes that may develop a reputation for
>particular potency in the Asian market.  Products from Vermont maple
>syrup to Bordeaux wine carry a regional cachet reflected in their
>market price.
>
>Best wishes, Jim McGraw
>
>
>--
>*************************************************************************************************************************************
>"Beyond all plans and programs, true conservation is ultimately
>something of the mind-an ideal of those who cherish their past and
>believe in their future.  Our civilization will be measured by its
>fidelity to this ideal as surely as by its art and poetry and system
>of justice."
>
>-Udall, 1963
>
>James B. McGraw,  Eberly Professor of Biology
>Dept. of Biology, P. O. Box 6057
>West Virginia University
>Morgantown, WV  26506-6057
>Phone: 304-293-5201 x 31532
>
>Office: Room 5204, Life Sciences Building
>Lab:  Room 5209/5211
>Dept. web page: http://www.as.wvu.edu/biology
>JBM's web page: http://www.as.wvu.edu/biology/faculty/mcgraw.html
>JBM's extensive personal web page:
>http://www.as.wvu.edu/biology/faculty/JBMPersonalSite/index.html
>
>
>
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