[MPWG] MPWG V1#1 -- ginseng

Wed Sep 11 15:13:25 CDT 2013

Liz,

I encourage you to talk to people from many different areas, too. The
situations vary by location and community. But please don't ask me to give
you the names of ginseng growers. That has been the question of the week and
unless someone has a website advertising that for all the world to see, I
will not give out that information.

Jeanine

Jeanine M. Davis, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist 
Dept. of Horticultural Science, NC State University 
Email: Jeanine_Davis at ncsu.edu 
Websites:  http://ncherb.org <http://ncherb.org/>
http://ncspecialtycrops.org <http://ncspecialtycrops.org/>
http://ncorganic.org <http://ncorganic.org/>  
Blog:  http://ncalternativecropsandorganics.blogspot.com
<http://ncalternativecropsandorganics.blogspot.com/>  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JeanineNCSU 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeanine-Davis/1442912228
<http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeanine-Davis/1442912228>  
Address: Mtn. Hort. Crops Research & Extension Center 
455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC 28759 
Phone:  828-684-3562   FAX:  828-684-8715 

From: MPWG [mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
Elizabeth Ann Blaker
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 4:01 PM
To: Connie Kehler; herbalogic at yahoo.com
Cc: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org; Michael Schenk
Subject: Re: [MPWG] MPWG V1#1 -- ginseng

Hello all, 

I am a science/nature writer and have been following this thread with
interest. I am thinking about writing an article about the real issues with
ginseng conservation, setting the record straight.

Several of you have written very interesting posts on this topic, and I hope
you won't mind if I contact you individually by e-mail to ask some
questions. I find it both sad and interesting that government policies meant
to protect ginseng are seemingly having the opposite effect - I would like
to talk to anyone who is conducting studies on this.

I would like to talk to people from as wide a range of perspectives as
possible, including researchers, conservationists, herbalists, harvesters,
wholesalers, and even those who poach.

Please send me e-mail if you would like to talk with me. 

My background is in both science and writing -- I have a master's degree in
Biology and have written articles for magazines, public radio, websites, and
various university projects.

Thanks,

Liz Blaker

  _____  

From: MPWG [mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] on behalf of Connie
Kehler [shsa at sasktel.net]
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 12:41 PM
To: herbalogic at yahoo.com
Cc: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org; Michael Schenk
Subject: Re: [MPWG] MPWG V1#1 -- ginseng

Very very well put!!!

CHECK US OUT AT www.saskherbspice.org

On 2013-09-11, at 1:33 PM, herbalogic at yahoo.com wrote:

Bravo Bob!

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 8, 2013, at 7:45 AM, Robert Layton Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu> wrote:

Here is he letter as it was sent out yesterday. My thanks to my friend Scott
Persons for editing!

Dear CBS News, 

I was troubled to read and watch the segment you aired the morning of
September 5th regarding North Carolina wild ginseng. It contains factual
errors and shows a bias towards sensationalism that is disappointing. 

Your choice to interview only one dealer, Mr. Eidus, was a poor one, since
he does not represent the majority of ginseng dealers. Indeed, his opinion
-- that 90% of the wild ginseng he purchases has been poached - is certainly
not shared by the majority of other ginseng dealers. His willingness to
purchase it nevertheless is a bad example, which reflects poorly on the
industry in general. His opinion that ginseng will be gone in 10 to 20 years
is pure nonsense, as a simple "fact check" with state or federal regulatory
officials would have easily revealed. Is it the policy of CBS news to quote
unsubstantiated sources when legitimate sources of information are readily
available?

What is even more troubling is your lending credence to the proposition that
the major threat to ginseng is posed by poachers.

This erroneous assumption is so often repeated by the media that it is now
widely accepted as fact, but a recent article published in "Science"
magazine by the leading Ginseng Conservation Biologist Professor, James
McGraw of West Virginia University, states that predation by white tailed
deer is the most serious threat to the species and not poachers. 

Most individuals who harvest wild ginseng also replant seeds, thereby
expanding existing populations, often relocating them to areas that are more
secure from deer or development. I can understand your ignorance regarding
the population dynamics of a wild plant, but published data by Professor
McGraw, as well as other legitimate researchers, suggests that stewardship
of wild populations by harvesters can significantly increase populations,
Ironically, even poachers, such as Mr. Hurley, sometimes aid in the
preservation and perpetuation of the species (although those who hunt out of
season, take every plant they find, and fail to plant the berries certainly
do not).

Finally, Charlie Rose's, comment wondering why it is not widely grown, is a
thoughtful and legitimate query. Unfortunately, cultivated ginseng is not
worth very much and suitable habitat for growing "wild simulated" ginseng is
rare and increasingly threatened by development. Ginseng populations may
recover from poaching events, but they will never recover from being paved.
The fact is that most so called "wild" ginseng is "grown" by people who
return to the same areas regularly to pick berries and replant seed as they
harvest mature roots. 

Ms. Leopold's comments regarding the lack of interest in conservation are
accurate in the sense that it is more "newsworthy" to report the misdeeds of
a few individuals, while ignoring the real issues that should be addressed. 

I am saddened that CBS did such a poor job in reporting this story.

Sincerely,

Bob Beyfuss

Retired American Ginseng Specialist for Cornell University Cooperative
Extension.

Licensed NY State Ginseng Dealer

 <mailto:Rlb14 at cornell.edu> Rlb14 at cornell.edu

136 Schuessler Lane, Preston Hollow NY 12469 

  _____  

From: MPWG [mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] on behalf of Michael
Schenk [schenkmj at earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2013 9:19 PM
To: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [MPWG] MPWG V1#1 -- ginseng

While we might argue about details and dates of extinction (hey, what do you
expect from tv?), wild ginseng is definitely heavily threatened, by a
synergy of factors.

"Poaching". There are gray areas here, where traditional harvesting might
cross a paper border, but there are clear signs that the nature of ginseng
harvesting has changed. Here's one anecdote: a friend who grew up digging
sang found a good bed. He harvested from that bed for years, but made the
mistake of disclosing it to an in-law with drug issues. The entire bed
disappeared. Combine this anecdote with the ongoing recession and the spread
of meth and painkiller addiction... So traditional diggers are also
stewards, but there's another, newer ethos going on here.

Habitat loss. Population's increasing, and an awful lot of people of means
want a lawn in the country. Mountaintop removal coal mining buries
Appalachian coves in waste; prime ginseng habitat is used as a landfill.
Interstate highways just have to be built. I'm sure MPWGers can fill in many
other habitat issues.

Invasive species. I know we've argued this over in the past, but I've seen
with my own eyes how stiltgrass and tearthumb can completely dominate forest
edge areas, as well as interior areas. With habitat fragmentation, there's
lots more edge, too.

Climate change. Another hot button, but it's happening. Plants are
especially vulnerable to rapidly changing ecosystems, especially
slow-growing plants with modest seed dispersal. Ginseng likes it cool. I've
seen it grow best near the foot of a ridge, flushed with rain runoff. As the
coves and hollows warm, the cooler zone moves higher towards the peak, plus
it gets drier. Eventually, we run out of mountain. Animals and birds can
migrate to the next ridge over, but how many of those will be passing
ginseng seed? 

Deer. Many populations are out of whack. "Browse lines" are familiar to many
or most of us, where there's nothing but thick woody stems below reaching
height for a hungry deer. Not only forest-floor plants, but future
generations of trees, are disappearing there.

These factors make it critical to have protected areas for wild ginseng.
Cultivated ginseng isn't the same. Commercial seed sources can be chemically
dependent on pesticides after generations of cultivation. I grow wild
simulated, but this is indeed simulated, not a distinctive population
adapted to a locale over thousands of years (even if wild simulated does
sell as "wild"). Ginseng has been shown to develop many isolated,
genetically distinct populations. Each time we lose a bed, we could be
losing the equivalent of an entire subspecies. 

These problems are beyond the scope of any single or easy solution, but we
definitely need to protect as many wild populations as we can. Even from a
commercial viewpoint, this makes sense, to maintain genetic diversity as
insurance against blight and inbreeding. Traditional diggers who replant
probably do more than anyone in this regard. The government is limited in
what steps it can take, but it does have statutory responsibility in
National Parks, as well as responsibility for the trade of endangered
species per CITES. I've also heard horror stories from private
landowner/growers who have had years of work dug up in a day, with very
limited legal recourse. Maybe we could use more rights for small growers.

What do folks think about instituting isolated, single-population ginseng
growing refuges, clearly identified as to source and lineage? (similar to
the seed bank Marla proposes on change.org) This would be an active step
beyond the necessary but somewhat passive protection of wild populations. I
tend to buy seed from a single grower, but I have mixed some seed from
another source.

Bob, for some reason I didn't see your letter in your post, the attachment
may not have survived the digest format.

Mike Schenk

PS: Let's not point fingers about the video, after all this is "television
journalism" - low info content, short attention span, high drama. 'Nuff said
<grin>.

>
>Today's Topics:
>
> 1. ginseng in the news (Susan Leopold)
> 2. Re: ginseng in the news (Colin Donohue)
> 3. Re: ginseng in the news (Michael McGuffin)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 17:15:39 -0400
>From: Susan Leopold 
>To: mpwg 
>Subject: [MPWG] ginseng in the news
>Message-ID:
> <5DE76C5A-A955-4B6D-BCC9-A93B83BEB7CB at unitedplantsavers.org>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>United Plant Savers has started a 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 letter, also you can
go to the UpS website 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-
survival-of-plant-species/
>
>Susan Leopold, PhD
>Executive Director, UpS
>703-667-0208
>susan at unitedplantsavers.org
>

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To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to MPWG-request at lists.plantconservation.org
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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.

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