[MPWG] Poaching, was re: ginseng/hemlock

[Chip Carroll]

Great comments Bob & others,

We have been working on the issue of ginseng "poaching" in Ohio for several 
years now through educational efforts focused at Law Enforcement, Judges 
and Prosecutors.  We were finding that all to often, even when a "poacher" 
is caught, that the judge or prosecutor would take on the attitude of "it's 
just a plant" and let the offender go with a slap on the wrist or less, 
even when they were getting away with hundreds, perhaps thousands of 
dollars worth of some ones ginseng crop.

One grower recently comments that "poaching" is something we do to eggs, 
and that what is happening to many growers in the region is just outright 
theft as Bob pointed out (stealing property from some ones backyard or 
"back 40" ).

I thought I would share a write-up of "Key Lessons Learned" from a poaching 
experience.  This is a document that was developed by a Ohio ginseng grower 
after having thousands of dollars worth of root stolen from him a couple of 
years ago.  Hope that some will find it helpful.  (see attached)

Chip




At 02:29 PM 3/6/2006, Bob Beyfuss wrote:
>Hi all
>I really don't think you can hide ginseng from poachers. It is like trying
>to hide the holiday presents from your teenage kids! I have thoughts on
>poaching ginseng that may be somewhat relevant to other medicinal plants.
>Bob
>
>Thoughts on Poaching Ginseng
>
>I think it is time to make the distinction between poaching and grand
>larceny. In the South and Midwest where much rural land is owned by large
>utility companies and the Federal government, hunting, fishing and poaching
>ginseng on this land have become accepted practices among some local
>residents. When the victim of poaching is a large, perhaps unknowing and
>seemingly uncaring corporate entity it is difficult for me to become too
>upset by local people harvesting a resource that they may have planted
>themselves or at least have tended over many years, especially if they have
>stewarded that resource, protecting it from deer and other threats and are
>the main reason it still exists.  I have seen ginseng patches destined for
>development successfully transplanted elsewhere on public property
>unbeknownst to the property owners. In NY when I think of poaching, I think
>about shooting an extra deer or perhaps taking a deer out of season for
>food. In many cases it does appear to be a victimless crime. (unless you
>are a deer of course!)
>
>When it comes to stealing someone's private property, almost literally from
>a back yard or adjacent to a house, then it is time to become outraged.
>There is no justification for outright thievery nor is there any excuse for
>ignoring such behavior by dealers who knowingly purchase that ginseng.  The
>NY State and most other state's ginseng regulations clearly state that wild
>ginseng may only be gathered on private property with permission of the
>property owners during the official harvest season. Diggers selling wild
>ginseng should be prepared to show proof of landowner permission when they
>sell their roots. If this means sharing some of the money from sale of the
>roots with the landowner, so be it. When one hunts and kills deer on
>someone's else's property with permission, it is traditional and proper to
>offer the landowner some of the bounty.
>
>I strongly suspect that much of what is sold today as "wild" ginseng is in
>fact "wild simulated". This is ginseng that somebody planted years ago
>either on private or public land. In some cases the seed was gathered from
>wild plants but in many cases it was purchased from elsewhere. Generations
>of diggers have nurtured this resource and in many cases have prevented it
>from being extirpated in a given area. It is time for ginseng growers and
>diggers to get rid of their presumed cover of being anonymous. If you are
>anonymous or invisible how can anyone steal from you?  If you "secretly"
>grow ginseng on your property and someone steals it from you what recourse
>do you have? How can you even prove that you had something stolen? You may
>think you have a secure and well protected spot but in fact your "secret"
>garden may be well known among local thieves who are just waiting for it to
>become worth their effort to steal.
>
>       So, what is a digger/grower to do? Here are a few important steps.
>First, assume that your private patch is not really private at all. Expect
>to be a target and act accordingly. Document every seed you plant and every
>rootlet you transplant. Save receipts from seeds purchased and all supplies
>used to grow your crop. Take many, many photos of your crop each and every
>year. Record everything you have growing and it's approximate value. This
>will help to justify a theft loss on your income taxes should one occur.
>Check with your insurance company to see if your ginseng crop is covered
>against theft loss. Let the local Cooperative Extension agricultural agent
>know you are a grower as well as your local Farm Service Agency Director.
>Show them your gardens so they will be able to corroborate your story
>should you get ripped off.  Put a fence around the garden and post it well.
>Nothing quite denotes ownership more then a fence even if it is only a
>three foot chicken wire enclosure.
>
>If your garden is worth significant money, spend some money to protect it!
>Motion activated "Critter Gitter" alarms cost about $60. Fake video cameras
>cost about $10 each, real ones cost more but the technology exists today
>that allows monitoring a garden one half mile from your house while
>watching it on your TV monitor. Would you leave the keys to your Lexus in
>the ignition and leave it parked on the street in an unknown neighborhood
>when you went away on vacation?  Avoid the temptation to install "booby"
>traps. At best, anyone hurt by a "booby" trap, even a lowlife thief, will
>likely be able to successfully sue you for using it.  At worst you will
>maim or kill an innocent person.
>
>Finally, be prepared to do whatever it takes to catch and prosecute the
>thief. I know a very successful grower in West Virginia who is well known
>locally as someone who will spend $1,000 if necessary to catch a thief who
>steals $100 worth of his ginseng. Consequently, no one steals his ginseng.
>If we can develop and support a significant ginseng industry we need to
>make ourselves well known to agency people, politicians and police.
>
>At 06:47 PM 3/5/2006, Michael Schenk wrote:
> >Jennifer,
> >
> >I'll probably plant some hemlock, even apart from herb cover planning,
> >just because there isn't any hemlock nearby that I've seen, so it might be
> >spared from the woolly adelgid, which is decimating hemlocks at a higher
> >elevation nearby.  I'd like to have some scattered survivors to repopulate
> >hemlocks if the adelgids get defeated eventually.  Meanwhile, I'll
> >probably throw some black cohosh, bloodroot, ginseng, and goldenseal under
> >them and near them, and see what survives.
> >
> >Another question that's related to why I'm looking into planting ginseng
> >under conifers is to discourage poaching.  This might be off-topic for
> >MPWG, so I'll be glad to drop it if it is.  I've had some mature plants go
> >missing, and I'm not sure whether to animals or to people, but I have had
> >a number of neighbors bring up the subject of ginseng with me.  I usually
> >say we're at too low an elevation for it to grow naturally, and leave it
> >there, but I see the poaching problem looming large in the future. I'd
> >rather switch to other crops than have to take a lot of anti-poaching
> >measures; no one there seems to pay attention to BC, bloodroot, or
> >goldenseal.  If I can confuse and mislead poachers by growing under mixed
> >pines, I'll try that.
> >
> >One approach I tried this year was to clip off the tops  when the digging
> >season opened.  I put the berries in the ground on the spot.  The leaves
> >make a good ginseng tea for my own use.  I can't tell if that helped or
> >not, and I'm waiting to see if it damaged that plot.
> >
> >I'd like to hear other ideas about poaching.
> >
> >List, sorry about the uncorrected title in my last post.
> >
> >Cheers,
> >Mike
> >
> > >
> >Message: 3
> >Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2006 18:09:36 EST
> >From: Cafesombra at aol.com
> >Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng / hemlock
> >To: MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org
> >Message-ID: <278.5d5b912.313cc9b0 at aol.com>
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >
> >You're right about hemlock being a bad idea.  The root system is broad  and
> >shallow right on the surface panning out from the trunk.  Nothing  much 
> grows
> >under the hemlocks, coptis maybe, partridge berry, black trumpet  shrooms,
> >indian pipes.  That's about it.  That's under a giant, not
> >a  sapling.  Nothing
> >under the saplings.
> >That hemlocks are under attack is of course a good reason to try stewarding
> >them on your land.  Here in Central Pa at least where I am we still have a
> >great deal of giant grandmother/father hemlocks, let's hope it stays
> >that  way,
> >cheers, Jennifer
> > >
> >
> >
> >
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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.

Chip Carroll
NTFP Research Education & Demonstration Coordinator
Rural Action Forestry
Appalachian Forest Resource Center
33560 Beech Grove Rd.
Rutland, Ohio 45775
phone: 740-742-4401
fax: 740-742-8303
www.ruralaction.org/forestry.html

www.appalachianforest.org

www.growginseng.org  
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