TOPIC: How do we stop illegal digging out of season?

It's to Easy beat in my opinion which just makes it another unnecessary regulation creating another added burden for the honest digger + it will result in a added cost to diggers as they are not going to set up check points for free and the government doesn't pay for this they initiate fees or licenses that end up paying for it. So the outlaws EASILY find away around it as I described and the legal diggers are punished with a regulation that ends up costing them due to having to pay for check points in some way.

Good points guys. I agree it will be difficult. Thank goodness there are great dealers out there like Bcastle, Billy, rootman and the list goes on and on.

However, with the overwhelming number of diggers in the woods it is only possible for authorities to catch a small percentage of those breaking the law.

For every dealer in any given state how many diggers are there 100 to 1, 500 to 1, 1000 to 1. I do not know the answer. However, I still think by stopping the unethical law breaking dealers from buying ginseng would help a great deal.

Big fines to dealers makes more sense to me. Hit em where it hurts. Arrest and fine a drug addict and they may do time but do not have the resources to pay a small fine let alone a huge fine. That's why there breaking the law poaching and digging out of season anyway. Most of them are most likely couch bouncing and would be hard to find to prosecute.

Just my 2 cents worth.
Latt

No it not a perfect solution but authorities can monitor a couple hundred dealers easier than thousands of diggers per state

I still say take away the outlet to sell illegally dug seng and it will slow things down.

Latt stated, Take away the outlet to sell illegally dug seng and it will slow things down.
The problem is everyone and there brother are digging seng out of season and holding until legal season or selling to rogue buyers. They will even barter with seng to knives, guns to hunting dogs. I see no other way but green sells only,Period.

Think about this also. Green Only. If you cut out the illegal summer digging look at how much more seng would be worth during legal season because there wouldn't be the influx of dry roots dug illegally.
I hear all the legal diggers complaining this season about going seng hunting only to find empty holes where it had been dug months ago.
All the laws in the world won't stop the summer digging.
So I still say green sales only and a 10 year age on the roots.

rootman wrote:

Latt stated, Take away the outlet to sell illegally dug seng and it will slow things down.
The problem is everyone and there brother are digging seng out of season and holding until legal season or selling to rogue buyers. They will even barter with seng to knives, guns to hunting dogs. I see no other way but green sells only,Period.

Well I honestly hope some of the diggers that sell to you are on this board as they now need to spread the word that you as a buyer on calling for the government to force them to sell ginseng in green form only leading to them receiving only 25-50% of the ginsengs value and then I certainly hope the word spreads from 1 to another so that you no longer have anyone to buy from. I've pointed out repeatedly the problem with green only sales and you said you understood and your right back to calling for it again. You are a one Slick SAVY buyer in my opinion and KNOW this will result in significantly more profits for you doing this, less risk, and no down side to you the buyer while still knowing it will hurt the diggers profit in every way with no benefit to them.
If your going to force us to sell green REALLY heap the regulations & greater oversight on the buyers and force them to all sell only green also with export of root required within 2 weeks of being bought. That should easily end your buying season by mid-October or so and have all ginseng out of the country by early November.
That should make us all happy right???

No, GMCPaul.

I'm only thinking about the future of ginseng and I believe most of your land owners that are growing ginseng would agree with me.
The people that are stewarding ginseng they can get their license and certify their own ginseng.
You need to put away that JIM BEAM bottle and really think about the future of ginseng and not what is good for you.

I agree that it should be Federal law that the youngest root exported be 10 years old. But I also feel that NO BUYER should be allowed to dry and sell any ginseng bought green if the diggers are not allowed to sell dry. If a GREEN only law is good enough to be forced on the digger it should be a law that is forced upon everyone. Digger, Buyer & Exporter.
Then we'll see how quickly you all can get that root bought, sold, andthrough the folks inspecting before export so that it doesn't mold before it arrives overseas.

By the way I'm only thinking of the future of ginseng also. It does make me sad to see woods I don't tend or dig any longer where the ginseng is no longer present or in less supply but it makes my heart glad when I see the woods I tend continue to thrive & grow.
If your so worried about it and the government is then why aren't permits issued to pull ginseng from land where the environment will be changed so that it can no longer grow before they allow the strip mining, clear cutting for development etc....???
Why isn't the Fed's and states promoting reseeding of Federal & State land??? Theres so much more that could be done to promote ginsengs spread that isn't done.

LOL I never drank heavily in my youth and haven't had anything in several years and then it was a Mike's Hard Lemonade. So no need to put away a bottle here. I'm TRYING TO THINK OF EVERYONE. So why in your opinion should we as diggers only be able to sell green which would mean having to go see a buyer weekly at least and you the buyer not also be required to sell green only. You not likely what it means for your profits?? The increased difficulty as a buyer it will represent?? The reduced profits you'll make as your buyers will have you over a barrel to sell at what they are offering or you get to keep your root and watch it all go bed???
What's good for the goose is good for the gander I believe is what they say.

GMCPaul,

With the amount of seng you steward and harvest, why not get your licence and you could even buy green and dry it.
I have no answer on clear cutting and strip mining which is very sad.