[MPWG] Question for AHPA Re: AHPA Submits Comments on Special Forest Products and Proposed Fees

Sun Jan 27 10:25:29 CST 2008

 Hello,
Now I see a posting was made Dec. 20 regarding an extension for public comment on this ruling, thanks to Patricia. Seeing that comments were due on January 22 (thank you Karen for including the link to the Federal Register) it's obviously too late to say anything to the government.
I wonder if anyone from AHPA might be willing to explain how a 3% fee at the point of collection will affect pricing further up the value chain.  Does this mean that AHPA believes collectors exclusively should carry the burden of fees, or will we now see a 3% increase in the price of affected raw botanicals and ultimately, on supermarket shelves?  Does AHPA anticipate buyers being willing to pay more?  For example, buyers purchasing materials carrying organic certification pay more for the material, theoretically to help farmers/collectors do the right thing rather than making them take the burden on all by themselves.  Since following this SFP rule to do the right thing will have no seal for consumers to see it's a sustainable source, unless the collector takes the additional step of organic certification (adding more costs of course, including an additional 1% fee for all sales), does that mean collectors will be on their own with this new fee?  Obviously the fee has to come from somewhere... Is the fee meant to or will it indirectly deter people from collecting on public lands?  If collectors pass this increase in the cost of doing business on to buyers, do you think that will encourage buyers to avoid such materials and purchase only from private woodlot owners, or to source more foreign ingredients?
Did any collector on this list outside of AHPA take the opportunity to comment?  Unfortunately I was on holiday during the holidays, and missed the posting regarding the comment extension.  I looked at the Sept Oct and Nov archive and did not see an initial posting on this matter.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael McGuffin <mmherbal at ca.rr.com>
To: cafesombra at aol.com; MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org; dnrmlw at dnr.state.ak.us; joe.joyner at alaska.gov
Sent: Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:08 am
Subject: Re: [MPWG] AHPA Submits Comments on Special Forest Products and Proposed Fees

Hi,

The comments that AHPA filed were not to this proposed
Alaska state rule but to a federal rule proposed by the USDA Forest Service.

Much of the points that you make about the need for a more
active and participatory citizenry are nonetheless relevant.

Michael McGuffin

AHPA

From:
mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of cafesombra at aol.com

Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2008
4:28 AM

To:
MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org; dnrmlw at dnr.state.ak.us; joe.joyner at alaska.gov

Subject: Re: [MPWG] AHPA Submits
Comments on Special Forest Products and Proposed Fees

Hello,

Glad to see that AHPA was able to submit comments for this.  I wish that this list had more of a roll in discussion.  To me, the following announcement appeared to be relevant to Alaska.  Sorry, but frankly as most people do I often scan emails and this one had Alaska written all over it.  Since it is calling for revisions to the Alaska Administrative Code and comments were to be sent to DNR in Alaska, excuse me but, if public comment were really important to DNR on this matter, it might have been valuable to make it more clear that this rule affects collection in the lower 49 states.  Here in PA when I called the Forest Service to ask how to request permission to harvest teaberry, black cohosh and aralia on a recently clearcut large piece of state forest land I was connected to four different people who did not know procedure, was told they'd find out and call back, and never heard back from them.  Granted this was state land not national forest land.  None the less, DNR might want to think about more effective public outreach (even though public comment is such a nuisance) and might also want to do some outreach to their state siblings.  Democracy may be a bit quicker without including everyone but then, that isn't really the point, is it?  At any rate, glad some of the people got to put their two cents in.  Perhaps next time this list could work openly on a participatory democratic process of discussion and accord, and submit a group comment.  Even if we never reached a point of agreement, it might inspire a few more citizens to throw some cents into the mix. So long as people are not too busy and important for participatory democracy, it would be nice to give it a chance to work. 

The following is the public notice regarding these proposed regulation 

changes: 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE

REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing to add new 

regulations and revise others concerning the use of state lands for the 

commercial harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFPs).  DNR proposes to 

adopt regulation changes in Title 11 of the Alaska Administrative Code, 

specifically 11 AAC 96.030 dealing with the Applications for a land use 

permit. The Department of Natural Resources also proposes to adopt new 

regulations in Title 11 of the Alaska Administrative Code, specifically 11 

AAC 05.010(a) and (e) dealing with the Fees,  11 AAC 96.035 dealing with 

the Commercial Harvest of non-timber forest products and 11 AAC 96.250 

dealing with definitions. 

The revised regulations include the following: 

refunds of annual use fees for land use permits

requirements for applications for land use permits

The new regulations include the following: 

establishes an application and minimum permit fee for commercial harvest 

permit for non-timber forest products,

establishes permit harvest fees for the commercial harvest of non-timber 

forest products,

establishes a permitting process, standards and conditions for the 

issuance of permits for the commercial harvest of non-timber forest 

products,

defines terms used in the issuance and management of permits for the 

commercial harvest of non-timber forest products.

The proposed regulation additions and changes are necessary to establish a 

sustainable commercial harvest program for limited amounts of non-timber 

forest products on state lands and to ensure that the public interest is 

served in the commercial harvest of these materials. 

You may comment on the proposed regulations, including the potential costs 

to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting 

written comments to the Division of Mining, Land and Water, 550 W. 7th 

Avenue, Suite 1070, Anchorage, AK 99501-3579 or by e-mail to 

dnrmlw at dnr.state.ak.us  or by fax to 907-269-8904.  The comments must be 

received by the department no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, on January 

4, 2008. 

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in 

order to participate in this process, please contact Joseph Joyner at 

269-8511 no later than December 21, 2007, to ensure that any necessary 

accommodations can be provided.

For more information or a copy of the proposed regulation changes, go to 

http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/hottopics/, or write to the Director’s 

Office, Division of Mining, Land and Water, Department of Natural 

Resources, Attention Joseph Joyner, 550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1070, 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3579; or call 907-269-8511, or email at   

Joe.Joyner at alaska.gov . 

After the public comment period ends, the Department of Natural Resources 

will either adopt these or other provisions dealing with the same subject, 

without further notice, or decide to take no action on them.  The language 

of the final regulations may be different from that of the proposed 

regulations.  You should comment during the time allowed if your interests 

could be affected.

Statutory Authority:   AS 38.05.020; AS 38.05.035; AS 38.05.850; 

Statutes Being Implemented, Interpreted, or Made Specific:   AS 38.05.020; 

AS 38.05.035; AS 38.05.850;

Fiscal Information:  The proposed regulation changes are not expected to 

require an increased appropriation.

-----Original
Message-----

From: Karen Robin <KRobin at ahpa.org>

To: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org

Sent: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 1:14 pm

Subject: [MPWG] AHPA Submits Comments on Special Forest Products and Proposed
Fees

AHPA Submits Comments on Special
Forest Products and Proposed Fees

(January 25, 2008) — The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)
has submitted comments to the USDA Forest Service in response to that agency’s
proposed rule governing the sale and disposal of nontimber forest products that
are harvested on National Forest System lands. The proposed rule, which was
issued last October, sets requirements for the Forest Service to monitor such
harvests and ensure that they occur at sustainable levels, and establishes
programs for collection of fees from harvesters.  

“Our National Forests and National Grasslands provide many commercially
valuable plants to the trade,” said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. “AHPA and
its members are committed to sustainable use of our plant resources and we
applaud the Forest Service for its management efforts. We are also supportive
of reasonable fees that can be used to manage those resources, but those fees
must be established at levels that do not disrupt the income of individual
collectors and other small businesses that are engaged in sustainable harvest
operations.” 

Among its comments to the Forest Service, AHPA suggested that fees for
harvested forest products be calculated at the point of harvest, rather than
further along the distribution or value-added chain, and that these fees should
be 3 percent of each product’s value at the point of harvest. AHPA also
suggested that existing resources should be used in both monitoring and pricing
activities. These include AHPA’s tonnage surveys, the AHPA/AHP Good
Agricultural and Collection Practice for Herbal Raw Materials(1), and the
ISSC-MAP(2).

The Federal Register notice for the Forest Service’s proposed rule can
be downloaded at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20658.pdf.

AHPA’s comments are available are at: http://www.ahpa.org/Portals/0/pdfs/08_0122_AHPAComments_USFS.pdf.

Notes:

1) Jointly published in December 2006 by AHPA and the American Herbal
Pharmacopoeia, this document is available at http://www.ahpa.org/portals/0/pdfs/06_1208_AHPA-AHP_GACP.pdf.

2) International Standards for Sustainable wild Collection of Medicinal
and Aromatic Plants, available at http://www.floraweb.de/proxy/floraweb/MAP-pro/Standard_Version1_0.pdf

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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 
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