[MPWG] ginseng in the news
ForestRuss at aol.com
ForestRuss at aol.com
Sat Sep 7 07:12:59 CDT 2013
Bob:
An excellent description of the problem. I live in a part of the world
where it is OK to "take" anything from a relative without permission but a
horrible crime if they "steal" the same thing from you.
Situation specific semantics....a complete and special chapter in the
Appalachian redneck dictionary.
Russ Richardson
In a message dated 9/7/2013 7:53:59 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
rlb14 at cornell.edu writes:
Hi All
Poaching is the illegal harvest of a natural resource, whether it is
ginseng, Galax, yellow root, or deer for that matter. The natural resource is
not the property of an individual unless that individual planted it. Stealing
is the deliberate taking of someone else's private property. People who are
growing ginseng on their land are subject to theft, not poaching. I wish
ginseng growers would stop saying that they have been "poached" when in fact
they have been robbed. Poaching evokes an "aw shucks, them rednecks are at
it again" response from many authorities. Grand theft or larceny does not
evoke the same response. Ginseng stewards sometimes poach the plant, but
for good reasons. When regulators decide that September 1 is when ginseng
should be harvested, they are making an arbitrary decision that is based on
average berry ripening dates. No plant pays attention to regulations.
Berries ripen when it is time for them to ripen, not when someone says they
should be ripe. A responsible ginseng steward will harvest when berries are ripe
and replant them. Sometimes this makes him or her a poacher if that date
is August 15th and the season opens September 1.
Preserving the genetic integrity of wild populations is a worthy goal, but
I believe that few, truly wild, populations exist. Michael Mc Guffin is
correct when he says that the influx of "cultivated" genotypes into forest
ecosystems is widespread and it has been that way for over a century. Some
states, such as my own (NY), prohibit the harvest of seeds from "wild"
populations thus making preservation of local gene pools impossible. NY requires
replanting the seed within 50 feet of the harvested root. Exotic slugs are
widespread in NY forests and they may completely prohibit ginseng
regeneration, while allowing mature plants to survive their predation. Taking seeds
from slug infested areas and replanting them in areas that are not slug
infested is illegal. if there must be a regulation why not it state that
"Ginseng may only be harvested when the berries are red". Is that so hard to
comprehend? How to enforce? Harvesters with ginseng in their pack must also
have red berries with them. No digger could have ripe berries in May or
June.
Enforcement of any of the current regulations is almost impossible anyway,
as has been well documented. We cannot post police officers in every Hollow
in Appalachia. The forest ranger in this video made that point.
We need to recognize that ginseng can be an agricultural entity in suitable
forested land, as well as a valued natural resource. When that happens,
the harvest pressure on natural populations on public land will be reduced.
Bob
____________________________________
From: Jeanine Davis [Jeanine_Davis at ncsu.edu]
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 3:03 PM
To: Robert Layton Beyfuss
Cc: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org; moonbranch at earthlink.net; Frank T.
Adams; Jessica Bernier; Jeanine Davis
Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng in the news
Bob, there is a difference between most wild harvesters and poachers. Many
wild harvesters try to replant and leave plants for the future. Poachers
are thieves. They steal from public and private land and they are not
concerned about the future. In western NC there is a high influx of outsiders,
often working in groups that are poaching ginseng, galax, ramps and moss.
Poachers are a major reason why wild simulated ginseng growers give up in our
region.
I agree with most else in your letter. Thank you for writing it but please
consider distinguishing between a wild harvester and a poacher.
Jeanine
Jeanine Davis, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist
Dept. of Horticultural Science, NC State University
website: _ncherb.org_ (http://ncherb.org/)
Sent from my Droid
On Sep 6, 2013 1:55 PM, "Robert Layton Beyfuss" <_rlb14 at cornell.edu_
(mailto:rlb14 at cornell.edu) > wrote:
Hi All
I have attached a letter that I am considering sending to CBS about their
"news" story. I don't mean to glorify poachers at all, but there is a
difference between poaching and stealing.
Bob
____________________________________
From: MPWG [_mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org_
(mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org) ] on behalf of MoonBranch Botanicals
[_moonbranch at earthlink.net_ (mailto:moonbranch at earthlink.net) ]
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 12:53 PM
To: _mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org_
(mailto:mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org)
Cc: Jessica Bernier; Frank T. Adams
Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng in the news
Where to start…
For sure, as in many contemporary issues, this “situation” is what
happens when a complex and multi-faceted issues meets a 30 second sound/video
bite passed off as “news” by the MSM. Unfortunately (and perhaps striking
more closely to “the root” of the problem) a 30 second allotment meets the
expected attention span of most of their viewers, so I can’t put all the
blame on the media I suppose.
That said, UPS shares a most valid concern with all, or at least most of
us in this community. While plants in general do not elicit the same “warm
and fuzzy” feeling in the so-called environmental community as do the “
charismatic mega-fauna” like the bald eagle or perhaps the timber wolf,
American ginseng is perhaps our best candidate in terms of reaching “charismatic
mega-flora” status. Now if we could just all focus on how best to use that
status to sustain it in the wild.
Once again, I find myself beating on the “policy does not work” drum.
Unfortunately, policy as a management tool is all our bureaucrats and
technocrats understand. The use of force and the threat of use of force is not only
undesirable in terms of effecting long term change, it is costly,
ineffective and unsustainable. Consider for a moment the failed “war on drugs”,
Prohibition, and the illegality of prostitution as a few prime examples for
comparison here. In all cases the negative fallout from “unintended
consequences” were and are far worse than the social ills that the policies were
put in place to remedy. The prevailing prohibition policy thinking in our
society never solves any problems or social ill, it only serves as a mechanism
in forcing them to retreat to the shadowy recesses of societal fringes
where they “metastasize” and get really, really ugly. Too bad that only
treating the symptoms of our problems is the order of our day.
I believe Thoreau got it right in this, as he did with most things, when
he stated: “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who
is striking at the root.” I for one believe it is high time to do some root
cause analysis here. Is that too much to ask? Or is it, as an approach,
too grounded in logic, common sense, and realism to be considered? OR,
perhaps is there here, as in many areas, another agenda at play? I have to ask…
Perhaps it is simply just too profitable for some of our “leaders” to
resist supplying state, federal, and local governments with tax dollars for
armored personnel carriers, guns, ammo, night vision, GPS units, body armor,
uniforms, and on and on in the name of protecting the Natural World from
us, along with us from each other. Is it, much as in the warning contained in
President Eisenhower’s farewell address regarding a then newly emerging “
military-industrial complex”, that poachers and poaching are just another
point of profit for the state and their corporate minions feeding a very
well documented “prison/judicial industrial complex”? Has “corporatism”
(fascism really) so engulfed the political system of our Nation that policy is
enacted with expectation for profit and not much else? I have to ask as I
see no other reason for the insane continuation of such a short-sighted and
ineffective way to affect change and steer human behavior.
There are many productive ways to address this and many issues of our
time. All of them require the establishment of an open dialogue and active
participation of ALL stakeholders. This is, and will continue to be the only
way to safeguard our future, the future of American ginseng along with a
broader total bio-diversity, and indeed our planet.
In closing, pragmatism forces me to touch briefly on the subject of
cultivation. By “cultivation” I am referring to the intentional growing of
ginseng (or anything really) in a landscape or scenario greatly altered to
maximize the production of one, or perhaps just a few species. While I do
believe that cultivation in the narrow sense as just stated has its place, it is
not the answer. Consider this on your next visit to the zoo of your
choosing. Is relegating the plants of the world to some carefully controlled, yet
contrived existence really your vision for our future? Of what is
sustainable?
If not, then let us join forces through a voluntary marketplace to build
value, both economic and abstract, for all life, before we reach a point
where we cannot or perhaps will not be “allowed” to turn this ship around.
Respectfully submitted for due consideration and with the most benevolent
of intents,
Robin
-----Original Message-----
From: Colin Donohue
Sent: Sep 5, 2013 8:28 PM
To: Jeanine Davis
Cc: mpwg
Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng in the news
Absolutely.
That would be great. I regret I'm not in the role I once was, but this
issue is still dear to my heart.
A meeting of the minds, and forging of common strategies and efforts could
be a great thing in both stewarding 'sang in the wild and supporting
lifeways of the responsible ginseng stewards and harvesters out there.
C
On 9/5/2013 8:23 PM, Jeanine Davis wrote:
On an open forum all I am willing to say is that I am not amused and this
story could have been more accurate and hopeful. We do need to brainstorm
on strategies to reduce poaching to conserve wild populations and encourage
more wild simulated production. I have some ideas, that are built on
consumer demand and pressure.
Jeanine
Jeanine Davis, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist
Dept. of Horticultural Science, NC State University
website: _ncherb.org_ (http://ncherb.org/)
Sent from my Droid
On Sep 5, 2013 7:46 PM, "Michael McGuffin" <_MMcguffin at ahpa.org_
(mailto:MMcguffin at ahpa.org) > wrote:
Hello Colin,
I could not agree with you more that the information presented by Robert
Eidus was unfortunate, at best. But Susan Leopold was exactly correct in
calling attention to the very limited resources that are applied to plant
conservation. This was an important message, and an appropriate message from
United Plant Savers.
Michael
Michael McGuffin
President
American Herbal Products Association | _www.ahpa.org_
(http://www.ahpa.org/)
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 918 | Silver Spring | MD | 20910
MD Phone: _301.588.1171_ (tel:301.588.1171) x201
CA Phone: _310.745.8401_ (tel:310.745.8401)
30+ years of working for you!
From: MPWG [mailto:_mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org_
(mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org) ] On Behalf Of Colin Donohue
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2013 3:02 PM
To: Susan Leopold
Cc: mpwg
Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng in the news
This is great, other than being wrong.
I'm amused to see Robert Eidus as the spokesperson for the survivability
of Ginseng. It will be gone in 10-20 years? That's idiotic.
I'm sure Mr. Eidus didn't mean what he was cast as saying on the clip, but
it's still incorrect information.
I'm very disappointed to see UPS trumpeting this incorrect and
sensationalized clip.
Yes, there are issues with ginseng harvest, and I'd be the first to shout
from the mountaintop that poaching is a real issue that needs attention,
and that more resources should go into plant conservation. But putting
incorrect information out to spur public concern is disingenuous.
Colin
On 9/5/2013 5:15 PM, Susan Leopold wrote:
United Plant Savers has started a _change.org_ (http://change.org/)
letter to bring awareness to our members and the public and to show various
agencies that the public cares and supports ginseng conservation efforts....
Below is a link to the CBS story and to our _change.org_
(http://change.org/) letter, also you can go to the UpS website _www.unitedplantsavers.org_
(http://www.unitedplantsavers.org/) for links to several recent news
articles and ginseng recently published research.
Please join this campaign: http://chn.ge/15Eon5H
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57601454/ginseng-poaching-threatens-s
urvival-of-plant-species/
Susan Leopold, PhD
Executive Director, UpS
_703-667-0208_ (tel:703-667-0208)
_susan at unitedplantsavers.org_ (mailto:susan at unitedplantsavers.org)
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Robin Alton Suggs
MoonBranch Botanicals
5294 Yellow Creek Road
Robbinsville, North Carolina 28771
USA
Telephone: _828.479.2788_ (tel:828.479.2788)
Email: _moonbranch at earthlink.net_ (mailto:moonbranch at earthlink.net)
Websites:
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_www.localharvest.org/store/M16074_ (http://www.localharvest.org/store/M16074)
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Green Products Alliance
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at the root. - Henry David Thoreau
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or positions of the Plant Conservation Alliance.
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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
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