[PCA] QUESTION: Destruction of Seeds (fwd)

[Shepherd, Dan]

Hi Rich and others,

Here is the link to the PRC program info at the FWS which talks about
how to become a PRC.

http://international.fws.gov/pdf/prc.pdf


Regards,

Dan

Dan Shepherd, Director
Botanic Gardens Conservation Intl (US)
dan.shepherd at bgci.org

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11225
phone: 718.623.7362 fax: 718.941.4774
www.bgci.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich Owings [mailto:rowings at mcn.org] 
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 2:21 PM
To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org; Patricia_Ford at fws.gov
Subject: Re: [PCA] QUESTION: Destruction of Seeds (fwd)

This brings up another question. How does one go about becoming an
approved
Plant Rescue Center (PRC)?

Rich Owings, Executive Director
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
18220 North Highway One
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
707.964.4352 x 11
707.964.3114 fax
www.gardenbythesea.org

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Patricia_Ford at fws.gov>
To: <native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [PCA] QUESTION: Destruction of Seeds (fwd)


>
>
>
>
> Regarding the inquiry about seeds of Pritchardia remota that were
> confiscated by USDA officials. I forward the e-mail to USDA-APHIS,
below
is
> their explanation of the event.  Additionally, it is the USDA not the
Fish
> and Wildlife Service that inspects plants and plant material at U.S.
ports.
> The FWS does not destroy seized plants.
>
> Dear Ms. Coulombe,
>
> We researched your concerns about the Pritchardia palm seeds and here
is
> what we have determined.  The seeds in question have not been
destroyed.
> The Inspection  Officer inadvertently stated on the Mail Interception
form
> that they were "removed and destroyed", when in reality they were held
and
> set aside(safeguarded)at the Plant Inspection Station, as is our
standard
> practice with endangered species.  They are currently there awaiting
> assignment to an approved Plant Rescue Center (PRC)(e.g., botanic
garden).
> Some other non-regulated species of seed (i.e., CITES or ESA) were
shipped
> along with the two ESA-regulated Pritchardias, and those were released
to
> the importer.
>
> There was no certification that the seed was from an artificially
> propagated source, no statement on the bags, labels, or the
phytosanitary
> certificate regarding the specific origin.  There was no ESA permit
from
> the US FWS presented that the importer was obligated to have prior to
> importation.  Steps are now being taken to have them assigned to a PRC
as
> quickly as possible.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> T. Mark Thurmond
> Botanist (Headquarters CITES Specialist)
> USDA-APHIS-PPQ
> 4700 River Road
> Plant Safeguarding & Pest Identification
> Riverdale, MD 20737-1236
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>                       Plant Conservation
>                       <plant at plantconservation.org>
To:
<native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
>                       Sent by:
cc:
>                       native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconse
Subject: [PCA] QUESTION: Destruction of Seeds (fwd)
>                       rvation.org
>
>
>                       03/22/2005 05:14 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I'm curious if anyone has had similar experiences or can outline the
> policy and/or reasoning concerning the topic in this e-mail from
Lauri.
>
> Olivia
> SER/PCA
> http://www.nps.gov/plants/
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 20:25:49 +0100
> From: Lauri Coulombe <lauri at coulombe.info>
> To: plant at plantconservation.org
> Subject: destruction of highly endangered plant seeds
>
> I was wondering if you could help me figure out how to take action on
a
> specific issue. The palm tree species Pritchardia remota, native to
Hawaii,
> is virtually extinct in the wild and it only lives because people
propagate
> it. While it is prohibited to take the plants out of Hawaii, it is not
> illegal to take the seeds out as long as they are acknowledged to be
from
> cultivated origin (this is according to the USDA website).  Recently a
> friend in Europe shipped some of these seeds to California (he has
also
> supplied seeds to the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Garden
at
> Kew). He was unaware of the necessity of marking the label to indicate
they
> were from cultivation, and so the USDA confiscated the seeds and,
instead
> of
> sending them back indicating they must be labeled or doing something
else
> productive with them, they DESTROYED them! How is this different from
> killing an endangered plant or animal? If someone was trying to move a
> Panda
> and it didn't have the required paperwork they wouldn't put the Panda
to
> sleep! This is absolutely absurd; if the USDA was really concerned
about
> protecting this plant they would not have incinerated these seeds.  I
> really
> want to take some action on this, particularly as I've heard of other
such
> practices exercised by the USDA as well as the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
> If the very government agencies that are supposed to be protecting our
> wildlife are destroying it, what hope do we have?
> Thank you for your time.
> Lauri D. Coulombe
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> native-plants mailing list
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native-plants_lists.
plantconservation.org
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> native-plants mailing list
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native-plants_lists.
plantconservation.org
>



_______________________________________________
native-plants mailing list
native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native-plants_lists.
plantconservation.org