TOPIC: Ohio Investigating Harvest Of Wild Ginseng

Associated Press
Published: September 24, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio?State wildlife officers have identified dozens of ginseng harvesting violations in their effort to protect the medicinal herb.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says officers have uncovered over 60 violations involving more than 30 people. No one has been charged.

Ron Rogers, wildlife law-enforcement supervisor for central Ohio, says the state regulates ginseng to discourage over-harvesting, preserve the wild plants and allow them to reach maturity.

Last year, 3,626 pounds of ginseng were legally harvested in Ohio?s mature woodlands. The dried roots sell for $400 a pound.

Potential violations include digging ginseng without landowner permission, off-season collecting or possession, failure to maintain accurate records and failure to certify ginseng prior to export.

i think thats a good thing...i'v run into people squirrel hunting here in aug. digging ..our season opens in sept..

This just sounds like ethics,maybe it could join that thread.

Guy

I wish people would obey the ginseng laws so they won't make laws that stop us from digging any at all.I hope it won't come to that.I know around here there are alot of new people going out and digging just for the money because of the times.I am sure alot of these people don't care how big the plant is or what time of year that they dig. That is ashame because it will make it more and more scarce!I want my grandkids to be able get the thrill of finding a huge 4 or 5 pronger on a steep hillside.So please all of the newbies respect ginseng and all of nature so we can enjoy it in the future!!!

Chieftain I agree

yea i was at a buddies house the other day in Degraff, OH and he told me that accross the river from him some guys rolled upon 4 wheelers and cleaned out his neighbor of wild-simulated seng he`d planted about 5 year ago, around 600 plants altogether and he was spittin fire mad, as i would be too... which causes people to not let genuine hobby hunters like myself hunt just for personal use...i beleive if u hunt ginseng just for the money, your gonna stay poor, and rape mother earth in the process...a man should take no more than he needs a not take EVERYTHING...if you find a good patch then hell ya... thats nice but leave enough to allow the plant to regenerate and years later someone else can reap a good harvest...greedy people always get what they deserve...and so do thieves ...if u have respect for the land,mother nature and god...then you will have the success that u deserve. sometimes the laws seem a little over the top, but their made to protect this precious plant that we all obviously love... and to see it wiped out by thieves and poachers is just sad... and anyone with respect for god and his green earth would not wipe out a species for a short lived profit... i hope the law will make examples out of these guys up here poaching and thieving...its just plain wrong... i know it, you know it ... and so does god