<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Thanks Gena...<div><br></div><div>My suggestion is that since the Park Service and the US forest Service have the largest protected areas of ginseng populations that they consider managing these populations as a source for those looking for local seeds. This has been a suggestion of the Fish and Wildlife services.... for years and the idea behind the petition is to show states and FWS that the public cares and supports ginseng conservation efforts...</div><div><br></div><div>Ginseng is already being farmed in Wisconsin, Canada and in China and its those seeds that we do not want contaminating the Appalachian ginseng that is so priced for its wild character and medicinal value.... Please see the UpS website <a href="http://www.unitedplantsavers.org">www.unitedplantsavers.org</a> for links to research on why we need local seeds sources and to protect wild regional populations, specifically the work of Dr. Marla McIntosh out of the University of Maryland and her co-researchers...</div><div><br></div><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><tbody><tr><td valign="top" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="center"><table border="0" width="600" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" style="width: 600px; "><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="100%" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left"><table height="491" border="0" width="100%" tabindex="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK11" style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px; text-align: left; display: table; "><tbody><tr><td rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(50, 50, 50); font-size: 11pt; "><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; "><div align="center" style="text-align: center; font-size: 14pt; "><span><div align="center" style="text-align: center; font-size: 14pt; "><div align="center" style="text-align: center; font-size: 14pt; "><div align="left" style="text-align: left; font-size: 14pt; "><div style="font-size: 12pt; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><strong>Ensuring Sustainability</strong></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">FWS reports that Forest Service and National Park Service officials have increased enforcement efforts to curtail illegal harvesting. Officials have increased marking of wild ginseng roots with permanent markers like colored dyes to detect illegally harvested roots. </div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">FWS also identifies a number of future actions "to continue to minimize the impact of harvest of ginseng for international trade." These actions include:</div><ul><li>supporting efforts in Vermont to delay the start of the harvest season until Sept. 1 for the 2014 season</li><li>exploring strategies to reduce illegal harvesting</li><li>investigating seed collection and the establishment of regional seed banks</li><li>exploring the implementation of a standard to convert wet root weight to dry root weight</li><li>investigating how wild-simulated roots can be reported separately from wild roots in annual reports so that the impact of harvests on wild populations and the status of the species can better be assessed</li></ul></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div> <br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Susan Leopold, PhD</div><div>Executive Director, UpS</div><div>703-667-0208</div><div><a href="mailto:susan@unitedplantsavers.org">susan@unitedplantsavers.org</a></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<br><div><div>On Sep 6, 2013, at 2:32 PM, Gena Fleming wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div>Dear All:<br><br>I have appreciated all the insight and information from the recent responses to the Ginseng media.<br><br></div>Down here in Texas, I have no experience with ginseng cultivation or harvest issues. I hope the public will recognize that the news cast is, by definition, the opinion of a few people and does not constitute comprehensive coverage.<br>
<br>I am much more concerned about the petition being circulated by United Plant Savers, calling on the federal government to take control of wild ginseng. From the petition:<br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">" It has become very apparent that there are very limited sources of local
seeds and we ask that the USDA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S.
Forest Service work together to Save American Ginseng by investing in
programs that establish seed banks for local supply of regional seed
source."</span><br><br></div>The USDA, headed by Monsanto, factory farm and biotech proponent Tom Vilsack (specifically included among the addressees), is the last organization I want involved with controlling genetic resources of medicinal plants. Traditional herbal knowledge is regularly being mined by the biotech industry in order to genetically engineer medicinal plants with increased concentration of active ingredients (for conversion into patented drugs) and/or other genetic manipulations to render their cultivation more attractive to the agro-industrial complex.<br>
<br></div>I feel people are signing on to this petition simply because they want to voice support for ginseng and are not giving much thought to the merit of the proposed solution. I am at a loss to understand why United Plant Savers wants to turn genetic control of this wild plant over to the federal government. I feel the petition, more so than the broadcast, stands to create the appearance of consensus and widespread support for federal control. <br>
</div><div><br>I hope Susan will address this and the other concerns expressed in this thread.<br><br>I thank Robin for voicing her opinions about individual vs. government control as well. Do we need to start another petition?<br>
<br>Gena<br><div><div><div class="gmail_extra"><br> <div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="direction:ltr;font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma">
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<pre>Robin Alton Suggs
MoonBranch Botanicals
5294 Yellow Creek Road
Robbinsville, North Carolina 28771
USA
Telephone: <a href="tel:828.479.2788" value="+18284792788" target="_blank">828.479.2788</a>
Email: <a href="mailto:moonbranch@earthlink.net" target="_blank">moonbranch@earthlink.net</a>
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<a href="http://www.moonbranch.com/" target="_blank">www.moonbranch.com</a> & <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/store/M16074" target="_blank">www.localharvest.org/store/M16074</a>
Member:
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project; Farm Partner
Green Products Alliance
North Carolina Consortium on Natural Medicines
North Carolina Goodness Grows/NCDA&CS
United Plant Savers
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. - Henry David Thoreau
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