News

Forest Service announces ginseng lottery

By Bill Moss, Published: May 27, 2014

The U.S. Forest Service announced the application period for harvesting ginseng in 2014 in National Forests in North Carolina.

Between June 15 and July 15, people can submit their contact information to a Nantahala or Pisgah national forest district office to participate in the lottery for receiving a ginseng harvest permit.

Visitors must obtain a permit to collect wild ginseng in the two national forests during the designated harvest season.

Last year the Forest Service limited the harvesting of wild ginseng in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, citing concern over reductions in wild ginseng numbers. In 2013, the Forest Service implemented the following changes to wild ginseng harvests in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests:

• The number of permits issued is limited to 136 annual permits, a 75 percent reduction of permits from previous years.
• Permits are issued through a lottery system (selected randomly) by each district office. Persons may submit their names at more than one district office.
• A permit allows a person to harvest 1-3 wet pounds (at $40 per pound) of wild ginseng in the ranger district where the permit is issued.
• The permitted harvest season was reduced to 2 weeks from 4 weeks. Harvesting will be allowed Sept. 16-30 in 2014.
• Each district ranger may further limit ginseng harvests to certain areas of the national forest to allow the plants to regenerate, or to protect designated wilderness and other natural areas. Harvest area descriptions and maps will be provided to permit holders.

Those requesting a permit must call or visit a ranger district office and submit their name and address between June 15 and July 15. Requests by email will not be accepted. Written notification will be mailed to applicants selected by lottery before Aug. 15. District offices will issue permits Aug. 20 - Sept. 1 to selected applicants. Harvest is prohibited in designated wilderness and other natural areas set aside for research purposes, such as Walker Cove and Black Mountain.

In addition to reducing the legal harvest of wild ginseng, the Forest Service plans to increase law enforcement efforts to reduce poaching. Removing a wild ginseng plant or its parts from national forests without a permit or outside of the legal harvest season is considered theft of public property. Penalties for plant poaching may include a fine up to $5,000 or 6-month sentence in federal prison, or both. Every plant on the national forest is public property and is sustainably managed by the Forest Service to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Ginseng root has been favored as a tonic primarily in East Asia for the past two-and-a-half centuries. In North Carolina, ginseng is more common in the mountains, very infrequent in the piedmont, and very rare in the coastal plain.

For more information about harvesting ginseng in Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3801873.pdf.