[MPWG] Article about Medicinals & other PNW NTFPs

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

I appreciate that Eric pointed out the negative stereotypes being depicted 
in the Seattle Times article, A war in the woods (June 6, 2006). 
Newspapers are a major method of information dissemination in the United 
States and the general populace (including members from the entire range 
of medicinal plant working group stakeholders) get its information there. 
It's important for us to be critical thinkers, whether the material is 
from the popular press or peer-reviewed material. 
What caught my eye was that the plight of legitimate harvesters being 
robbed is making the headlines.  In the Appalachians, I've heard from 
harvesters and law enforcement, alike, that it's difficult to protect the 
livelihood of legitimate harvesters/growers (including folks who have 
harvested for generations as well as newcomers on the scene that are 
promoting a stewardship ethic) because legal authorities often do not 
comprehend the weight of the problem - with regard to livelihood or 
resource sustainability - and because plants are generally undervalued. 

What does this have to do with sustainable use and conservation?  A lot. 
One unethical harvester can ruin the good work of many - the good stewards 
lose, the plants lose, we all lose. 

-Patricia

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>

Eric T Jones <etj-list at ifcae.org>  wrote:

Why don't you try reading reputable research rather than this rubbish.  I 
could take apart most of the major claims but it really isn't worth my 
time.  For example, "specialty forest products....were once a low class 
sideshow."  Well, actually, salal has been harvested on the Olympic 
Peninsula since the 1930s and has been a big employer of many people, 
especially women who were historically excluded from the few other types 
of available work in that area like logging.  Also, that statement is 
classist and urban centric, but then so is most of the modern 
environmental movement.  It's much easier to rip on the poor and powerless 
and turn a blind eye to the massive amounts of chemicals that are used on 
salal by private industry.  Or when they don't use chemicals they scoop it 
into the slash piles and burn it along with the moss, ferns, and dozens of 
medicinal plants.  Harvesters are a spit in the bucket compared to what 
the big timber companies are doing and will continue as long as the people 
on this list continue to pretend that they are somehow saving special 
forest products (aka nontimber forest products) from destruction by 
stopping the harvest.  Stop reading this poorly researched media and try 
getting out in the woods and see what is really going on, you might be 
shocked.  Lastly, if you are really interested in understanding the salal 
industry please write me for scientific references.

Eric T Jones, Ph.D.
Ecological Anthropologist
Institute for Culture and Ecology (501c3)
Post Office Box 6688
Portland, Oregon 97228-6688.  USA
Telephone:  503-331-6681
E-Mail:  etjones at ifcae.org
Website:  www.ifcae.org 

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