Here in east Tennessee we go thru the same thing with the Cherokee National Forest. A small fee and I think they limit you to one pound per permit. I think it is a shame that all that land just sits there and people scream how the gensing in becoming endangered and all the Federals have to do is set aside some of the land(just a little) and designate that for small trusted groups to plant and monitor the gensing and allow that group to harvest in stages and plant new berries when they arrive in the summer and have the park service to monitor the crops and wow, we now have a dedicated area to reestablish dwindling crops and make money off the Koreans and Chinese with an American product they can't live without and we make money off them and have land(protected land) that assures the future of gensing and smalltown ridgerunners like me to make a little money to help our families out with a little extra cash. I know that if they let some people use the land then everyone will scream that they want land to use also but it can't be done that way. Small groups like the boyscouts, and small clubs of gensing growers that can establish a working relationship with the park service can build a relationship with the Feds and growers and everyone is happy. Hey, its worth a shot to try and noone has anything to loose and everything to gain in securing a future for American gensing and trade overseas.
