[MPWG] ginseng poaching program / UpS press release

Fri Jan 10 09:52:49 CST 2014

Good morning,
United Plant Savers issued a press release on this show, in which Susan Leopold (UpS/ executive director) states the organization's concern that "...the content of this show will have a negative impact on American Ginseng conservation and could lead to further illegal harvesting." You can read the press release here<http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1675774>; I have also pasted it below.
United Plant Savers warns History Channel about dangers of promoting harvest of threatened species.

PR Newswire

ATHENS, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2014

ATHENS, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Plant Savers<http://www.unitedplantsavers.org/> is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of medicinal plants native to the United States and Canada. As advocates for the dwindling populations of wild American Ginseng, United Plant Savers is expressing concern to the History Channel and its viewers over how the harvest of wild American Ginseng is being portrayed in the recent series 'Appalachian Outlaws'. This concern stems from the potential over-glorification of American Ginseng harvest in the wake of increasing levels of illegal harvest on state and federal lands, which has recently gained national media attention<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ginseng-poaching-threatens-survival-of-plant-species/> and is threatening the survival of the species in the wild.

"United Plant Savers is concerned that the content of this show will have a negative impact on American Ginseng conservation and could lead to further illegal harvesting," states Executive Director, Susan Leopold.

With the intention of reducing pressures on wild populations of American Ginseng<http://www.unitedplantsavers.org/content.php/326-Species-at-Risk-American-Ginseng> and other threatened medicinal plants, United Plant Savers has identified and published 'At-Risk' and 'To-Watch' lists<http://www.unitedplantsavers.org/content.php/161-species-at-risk_1> of key species in decline due to a variety of factors including over-harvesting. American Ginseng is listed in Appendix II of the CITES Treaty<http://www.cites.org/> and United Plant Savers is reminding the public about federal regulations, laws and recent restrictions<http://www.fws.gov/international/permits/by-species/american-ginseng.html> surrounding the harvest and sale of the species, and good stewardship harvesting practices such as those published by the American Herbal Products Association<http://www.ahpa.org/default.aspx?tabid=154> in collaboration with United Plant Savers and US Fish and Wildlife.

The future viability of wild populations of American Ginseng is questionable in light of the species' slow growth rate and complex reproductive strategy, loss of habitat, and increased illegal harvesting on state and federal lands in response to rising international demand and economic incentive. United Plant Savers has recently launched a national petition<http://www.change.org/petitions/save-american-ginseng-panax-quinquefolius> to encourage state and federal agencies to continue to fund initiatives specifically aimed at the conservation of American Ginseng and to facilitate educational programs for private landowners on how to grow American Ginseng as a non-timber forest product.

United Plant Savers acknowledges the cultural heritage and historical role that American Ginseng has played in the Appalachian region and encourages those that are interested in the harvesting of American Ginseng to educate themselves about conservation issues and regulations on the species.

SOURCE United Plant Savers
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 x201
CA Phone: 310.745.8401

30+ years of working for you!
[AHPA_logo_vctor_300]

From: MPWG [mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of Robert Layton Beyfuss
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 7:45 AM
To: ForestRuss at aol.com; MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [MPWG] ginseng poaching program

Hi Russ and others
I watched the show and it was wrong in so many ways, I hardly know where to begin. The misidentification of baneberry as black cohosh was a minor one, compared to the digging of ginseng with clusters of green berries, digging two prong plants and the unscrupulous dealers. The so called "disabled" poacher claiming to be supporting his family with ginseng should go to jail for fraud if he is indeed "disabled" and collecting benefits. Disabled people cannot hunt ginseng.
The only positive thing is that perhaps it will scare some potential poachers from breaking the law.
Bob

From: MPWG [mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of ForestRuss at aol.com<mailto:ForestRuss at aol.com>
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 10:20 AM
To: MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org<mailto:MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org>
Subject: [MPWG] ginseng poaching program

MPWG:

A new program had its debut on History Channel  yesterday 01/09/14 called "Appalachian Outlaws.

The program appears to be more about the being a ginseng poacher than almost anything else and I am uncertain how it could impact ginseng growers...beyond making theft a thrill game.

One concern I have as a long time grower of black Cohosh in a forest setting is that one of the poachers already has identified "dolls eye",  Actaea pachypoda, as black Cohosh, a very incorrect ID.  They made a point of showing the fruit and the foliage.

As a grower of the medicinal black Cohosh plant I think that in 2014 black Cohosh root buyers might have to be more vigilant in vetting their purchases to make sure they aren't getting poison.

I would appreciate other peoples' thoughts or comments on the program

Sincerely,

Russ Richardson, Certified Forester

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20140110/60c8cdbc/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 5188 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20140110/60c8cdbc/attachment.jpg>