[MPWG] American Ginseng CITES Report

Sat Jun 10 13:02:29 CDT 2006

Hi Bob and others,

I too share your concerns about the apparent disconnect between some in academic, government and other policy making circles and the natural world around us. More alarming however is the general disconnect of most in our society with that world. This lends itself to the situation where the voters and taxpayers in the US are largely unaware of natural systems that are critical for the survival of our species. Furthermore this population votes and supports policy based on their ignorance of the issues at hand.

I attended one of the USF&WS sponsored ginseng meetings in Asheville, NC earlier this year and was appreciative of the USF&WS staff's receptiveness to public input and general tolerance of the audience present. Recently I had the pleasure to meet and interact with another USF&WS staff person, Dr. Patricia DeAngelis, while participating in the Pacific Northwest Forum for Forest Practitioners in Vancouver, WA. I found her level of professionalism surpassed only by her open mindedness and willingness to collaborate and work toward consensus with attendees of the conference. This was indeed a heartening encounter for me as someone who has largely lost faith in many of the workings of our government and society as a whole.

Now that it appears that the voice of harvesters, forest workers and others in and allied with the wild botanicals industry has been heard and acted upon it is time to move on to the larger issue at hand in the protection of our planet's flora. What are we as a group prepared to do to address the wholesale destruction of natural resources by developers and corporate timber interests? In my mind this wholesale destruction of habitat and traditional use lands is the root (other than overpopulation) of our nation's degradation of its natural resource base. This must stop.

I continue to see a clear and worsening trend in our culture to address symptoms and not causes. This creates an illusion of effective implementation while glossing over and largely ignoring reality. 

As someone who has chosen to live and work in the woods for much of my life and as a taxpaying citizen I am generally frustrated by our policy oriented approach to conservation. I believe we must move beyond this ineffective paradigm and instead invest our collective energies into systemic change, both biologically and socially. The ridiculousness of our current approach is in seeing our tax dollars going to USF&WS and other agencies to protect and conserve our precious natural resource base while seeing those same tax dollars going to the US DOT to pave over them. Please, someone point out the logic in this!

This same policy oriented approach to conservation mandates the USFS to manage their lands for forest health and biodiversity while at the same time allowing/encouraging even aged management (clear cutting) and bulldozing logging access roads through areas containing medicinal plants, log moss and otherwise useable NTFP's. This results in the wholesale destruction of plants and their habitat that wildharvesters would need to get permits for the harvest of. Once again, the logic here is????

Perhaps I am a dinosaur, maybe a little jaded and disillusioned. All I know is that I have seen the remote county in western NC in which I live, once remote and relatively unspoiled (by the definition of our time), four-laned and turned into a mecca for yuppie motorcyclists. Private lands once hosting some of the most incredible and biodiverse stands of forests plants I have ever witnessed are now being parceled off and sold to wealthy out-of-staters for vacation and retirement homes. These same homeowners, who post their lands and loath local "poachers" who practice the multi-generational activity of traditional use in regards to the native plants in the region, will unthinkingly destroy that same natural resource base with their driveways, culverts and fescue/bluegrass lawns. 

When will we as a society wake up and begin to take responsibility for the outcomes of our actions and stop blaming a faceless, disenfranchised and largely impoverished population for what those with wealth and power in this country will not accept the blame for?

As a small business person who is struggling to make ends meet living on land which I own, largely a lifestyle of the past, I have more than enough to do. I had much rather fish than waste my time going down a path of treating symptoms and as a result spinning our collective wheels. If there are those out there who wish to work collaboratively to affect real systemic change then count me an ally. Otherwise I will work alone to do what I think is right.

Sincerely,
Robin Alton Suggs

-----Original Message-----
>From: Bob Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu>
>Sent: Jun 9, 2006 11:43 AM
>To: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org
>Cc: epb6 at psu.edu, sustainableresources at hotmail.com
>Subject: Re: [MPWG] American Ginseng CITES Report
>
>Dear List
>By now you have seen the USF and W findings regarding the export of 
>American ginseng. I applaud the decision made and commend the USF and W 
>staff highly on their efforts to learn as much as possible (I also respect 
>their courage in seeking out diverse opinions through public hearings, I 
>attended one of these public meetings and watched the USF and W people put 
>up with much abuse and personal attacks)
>However, I still have a couple of major concerns. First, I see that the NY 
>Natural Heritage program now lists ginseng as S3/S4 (vulnerable/apparently 
>secure). Previously it was classified as S4 "apparently secure" S3/S4 is 
>defined as less than 100 "documented" populations statewide. This is 
>NONSENSE! I can personally show anyone more than 100 ginseng populations 
>and there are likely thousands more out there. One single dealer I 
>personally know has bought ginseng from over 400 different individuals. 
>This is documented data and has been duly reported to the state ginseng 
>coordinator.  Does anyone think that all these people are all digging from 
>the same 100 or less populations? We have dealers all over the state buying 
>from many other diggers, Ginseng coordinators have data in their files to 
>refute this nonsense. Do other states have this same "disconnect" from the 
>data that has been recorded by state ginseng coordinators and their NH 
>programs?  A similar situations exists in KY which exports some 5 or 6 
>million wild roots each year despite their Natural Heritage Program saying 
>there are fewer than 100 populations. Their export data is also well 
>documented but apparently the folks at Natural Heritage are also clueless 
>about this. Will someone please tell me what needs to be done to get NY and 
>other NH programs to change their rating? They seem to exist in some sort 
>of "ivory tower" that does not bother to touch base with reality. I have 
>gone on their website and have offered to show them populations but have 
>not ever even received a reply.  This elitist attitude breeds contempt from 
>harvesters and creates a sense of hopelessness among concerned ginseng 
>researchers and needs to be addressed.
>Second, as comprehensive as the USF and W "findings" appear to be, they are 
>loaded with citations of "personal conversations" and "unpublished data" . 
>This amounts to no less than "hearsay" and indicates bias since neither 
>"personal conversations" nor "unpublished data"  to the contrary is cited. 
>I strongly support and encourage USF and W to use science as a basis for 
>their decisions, but "unpublished data" and "personal conversations" are 
>not science.
>Bob Beyfuss
>
>
>At 10:45 AM 6/9/2006, you wrote:
>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 09:53:50 -0400
>>From: Patricia_Ford at fws.gov
>>
>>The Fish and Wildlife Service recently completed the CITES non-detriment
>>finding for wild and wild-simulated exports of American ginseng.  The
>>finding (40 pages) is posted on the FWS's Web page at:
>>http://www.fws.gov/international/animals/ginindx.html
>>
>>A press release on the finding is attached.
>>
>>(See attached file: Ginseng press release.doc)
>>
>>Pat Ford
>>Botanist
>>Division of Scientific Authority
>>U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
>>4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 750
>>Arlington, VA. USA 22203
>>phone: 703-358-1708
>>fax: 703-358-2276
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>information that is discussed on this list should be carefully reviewed by 
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>
>
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>Disclaimer                                                                
>Any advice given on this list regarding diagnosis or treatments etc. reflects ONLY the opinion of the individual who posts the message. The information contained in posts is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific medical condition or question. All medical and other healthcare information that is discussed on this list should be carefully reviewed by the individual reader and their qualified healthcare professional. Posts do not reflect any official opinions or positions of the Plant Conservation Alliance.                                                    

Robin Alton Suggs
MoonBranch Botanicals
5294 Yellow Creek Road
Robbinsville, North Carolina 28771 
USA

Telephone: 828.479.2788
moonbranch at earthlink.net
www.moonbranch.com

Member:
American Herbalist Guild
Co-op America 
Green Products Alliance 
National Network of Forest Practitioners
North Carolina Consortium on Natural Medicines 
North Carolina Goodness Grows/NCDA&CS 
North Carolina Natural Products Association
Southwestern North Carolina RC&D Council
United Plant Savers 

"We have no choice but to respect that which sustains us."