[MPWG] Government Increases Restrictions on Wild American Ginseng Harvest

Wed Sep 14 15:59:14 CDT 2005

Blumenthal, M.  Government increases restrictions on wild American ginseng.
 HerbalGram.  2005; No. 5.
<http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp?c=wildginsengext> accessed September
12, 2005.

     Government Increases Restrictions on Wild American Ginseng Harvest     

 Minimum Harvest Age Extended to 10 Year-old Roots                          

 By Mark Blumenthal                                                         

 In what some ginseng industry insiders call a “surprising development,”    
 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on August 3 announced new         
 restrictions on the export of wild American ginseng roots (Panax           
 quinquefolius L., Araliaceae).1 The new requirement is part of FWS’        
 finding for issuance of export permits for ginseng harvested in 2005, as   
 required under the Convention in Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
 and Flora (CITES). FWS has now ruled that the minimum age for legal export 
 will be 10 years, doubling the previously required minimum of 5 years.     

 Although not an actual requirement, the new policy mentions the numbers of 
 leaves, or “prongs” as they are called by harvesters, as a guide to        
 diggers. Because harvested, dried plants do not generally possess leaves   
 at the time of export, the actual aging of roots will be done by counting  
 bud-scale scars on the rhizome, the generally accepted method for decades. 
 According to Roddy Gabel, Chief, Division of Scientific Authority at the   
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “We realize that the number of leaves per  
 plant is variable at any age, but the presence of at least 4 leaves is a   
 good indicator that a plant is at least 10 years old.” [Personal           
 communication (e-mail) to M. Blumenthal, Aug. 19, 2005] Previously, 3      
 leaves/prongs was the guide for a harvestable plant.                       

 CITES requirements dealing with plants pertain only to those plants that   
 are harvested for export. Not all CITES-listed plants are considered       
 threatened or endangered. According to Roddy, “In some cases, such as      
 [wild] ginseng, where the plant is traded in high volumes, regulation      
 under CITES is for the purpose of ensuring that trade is based on          
 sustainable harvest levels, to prevent the plant from reaching the point   
 of being threatened or endangered. Based on recent population studies, we  
 are concerned that wild ginseng may be approaching that point, and the     
 increase in minimum age is intended to keep us within a sustainable level  
 of harvest.”                                                               

 CITES rules do not apply to wild plants harvested for domestic             
 consumption. However, in the case of wild American ginseng, virtually the  
 entire crop is collected for export to Asia where there has been a robust  
 market for wild American ginseng since it was first exported from the      
 American colonies around 1720. Although American ginseng is a relatively   
 popular ingredient in soft drinks and dietary supplements, this ginseng is 
 cultivated in North America (usually Wisconsin or British Columbia); it is 
 not wild ginseng.                                                          

 Many herb industry members were surprised at the ruling, which was not     
 made according to a process that involved comment from the public.         
 However, the move might be seen as possibly predictable in light of        
 concerns expressed recently by conservation biologists and other           
 scientists about what appears to be a continual decline in American wild   
 ginseng populations in recent years.                                       

 Wild American ginseng populations have been in decline for several         
 decades, if not longer. In 1975 American wild ginseng was listed on        
 Appendix II of CITES, thus requiring that its harvest be monitored by      
 state agencies for it to qualify for export. In the past few years there   
 has also been increased concern expressed about declining populations due  
 to browsing by deer. Further, there are questions about ginseng management 
 in some states which allows collectors to begin harvesting in August.      
 Biologists are expressing concerns about the germination ability of the    
 relatively immature seeds from plants harvested this early in the season,  
 per the practice of collectors’ removing the (immature) seeds and planting 
 them where they have removed a plant.                                      

 The previous 5-year-old minimum age for export was established by FWS in   
 1999. At that time FWS expressed concern about the continual declines in   
 harvests throughout much of American ginseng's range in Eastern North      
 America and up into Eastern Canada. According to a press release from the  
 American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the herb industry trade       
 association, “Ironically, one of the factor's cited in [the FWS] decision  
 was that harvests have increased over the past six years.” 2  However,     
 although the total size of the harvests have increased, biologists have    
 been concerned about the relatively smaller size and low age of the        
 individual roots in these harvests.                                        

 A recent article states that harvest in Kentucky, a state with an active   
 ginseng monitoring and conservation program, yields about $10 million      
 worth of ginseng a year in legal harvests.3 It is not known how much is    
 poached, i.e., taken illegally either without a permit or even with a      
 permit, harvested on private or federal lands without permission and/or    
 harvested out of season. The reported economic value of wild ginseng dug   
 in Kentucky has remained level since 2000, according to state figures.3    

 According to Pat Ford, MS, a botanist at the Division of Scientific        
 Authority at FWS, “We are implementing these changes to ensure that wild   
 ginseng remains viable throughout its range in the United States. Based on 
 recent information, we have concluded that our previous export requirement 
 -- that wild plants be at least 5 years of age -- is not adequate to allow 
 plants to mature and produce a sufficient number of fruits (seeds) to      
 sustain future generations of ginseng. We have determined that current     
 harvest levels of wild ginseng are not sustainable and are detrimental to  
 the survival of the species. This is compounded by the fact that some      
 States allow the harvest of ginseng before the seeds have had sufficient   
 time to ripen -- usually after August -- and consequently have low         
 germination rates. Additionally, several states still do not require       
 harvesters to plant seeds of harvested ginseng plants at the point of      
 harvest.” [ref: Ford P. Personal communication (e-mail) to M. Blumenthal,  
 Aug. 10, 2005]                                                             

 Members of the wild ginseng industry were predictably less than            
 enthusiastic about the new regulations, particularly what they viewed it   
 as a closed-door process on the determination of the rules. “We now have a 
 situation where wild ginseng that can be legally collected at 5 years old  
 throughout its range will not be able to be sold to its primary market,    
 which is in Asia,” said Tony Hayes of Ridge Runner Trading Company in      
 North Carolina in a press release issued by AHPA.2 “It is unfortunate that 
 a decision of this importance has to happen behind closed doors, as the    
 cart has gotten before the horse, at least for the 2005 harvest.”          

 Echoing these sentiments was AHPA’s president Michael McGuffin. “I know    
 that many AHPA members empathize with the biologists at FWS and want to be 
 sure that wild ginseng is harvested in a sustainable manner,” he stated in 
 the AHPA release.2 “But it must be acknowledged that the current system    
 does not allow our input in the decision-making process, which makes it    
 very difficult to make good business plans if wild ginseng is important to 
 your company.”                                                             

 The new change does not apply to “woodsgrown” aka “wild-simulated”         
 ginseng, i.e., roots that are cultivated in the woods in natural shade     
 under relatively natural conditions. These plants still must be at least 5 
 years of age to export, said Ford. [Email to M. Blumenthal cited above]    
 FWS is contacting all ginseng exporters of record to advise them of        
 procedures for export of wild-simulated and woodsgrown ginseng. The        
 process that has been developed requires that diggers, dealers, and        
 exporters all keep this type of ginseng separated from truly wild ginseng. 
 This is an attempt by FWS to obviate the sale of wild-harvested roots that 
 may be fraudulently misrepresented as woodsgrown.                          

 Ginseng roots certified by a state as “artificially propagated” may still  
 be exported at any age when accompanied by a valid CITES export            
 certificate. Further, in the event that some seller or exporter has been   
 holding wild roots from a previous year’s harvest and previously certified 
 by a state, those roots may still be exported under the previous 5-year    
 minimum age requirement.                                                   

 Programs for the conservation of wild American ginseng have been           
 established since the herb was listed in 1975 on Appendix II of CITES. As  
 pointed out by AHPA, “species listed on Appendix II are not necessarily    
 considered to be threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade 
 is subject to appropriate regulation. In order for Appendix II-listed      
 species to enter into international trade, a determination must be made by 
 the ‘scientific authority’ in the country of origin that any harvest is    
 both legally obtained and is not detrimental to the survival of the        
 species. The Division of Scientific Authority at FWS serves in this role   
 for the United States.” 2                                                  

 The new requirements can be viewed on the FWS website at                   
 http://www.fws.gov/ and then click on “2005 Ginseng Information – Learn    
 More”. Within the document on the 2005 ginseng finding, there is a link to 
 an Annex with more detailed ginseng information.4  Anyone with questions   
 about the process, including requirements for harvests of woodsgrown       
 ginseng, should call FWS’ Division of Management Authority, Branch of      
 Permits at 1-800-358-2104 (toll free) or 703-358-2104. For more on         
 American ginseng, see Steven Foster’s Botanical Booklet on ABC’s website.5 

 References                                                                 

 1. USFWS. Convention permit application for American wild ginseng          
 harvested in 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Aug. 3,   
 2005. Available at <http://www.fws.gov/>. Accessed Aug 13, 2005.           

 2. Anon. FWS Extends Harvest Age on Wild American Ginseng to 10 Years.     
 AHPA Update. Silver Spring, MD: American Herbal Products Assn., Aug 5,     
 2005.                                                                      

 3. Maimon A. Poachers endanger Kentucky's ginseng. Dye, tracking used to   
 protect root. [Louisville, KY] Courier-Journal, Jun 6, 2005. Available at  
 <                                                                          
 http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/NEWS010 
 4/506060393>. Accessed Aug. 19, 2005.                                      

 4. Ford P. Annex 1 American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.): Species      
 Review. Washington, DC: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Available at <       
 http://www.fws.gov/>. Accessed Aug 19, 2005 (via Convention permit         
 application for American wild ginseng harvested in 2005 on USFWS site).    

 5. Foster S. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). Botanical Booklet     
 Series No. 308. Austin, TX: American Botanical Council, 1996.              

      Reprinted by permission of the American Botanical Council (ABC). ABC
            is an independent, nonprofit, member-based education
            organization, dedicated to promoting the responsible use of
            herbal medicine. For more information about ABC or membership,
            visit www.herbalgram.org.