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In anticipation of the 2006 CITES findings on American ginseng, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will be hosting a series of public meetings for members of the American ginseng industry, conservation biologists, and other interested stakeholders to discuss the status of wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). The meetings will be held on January 31 in Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA; February 10 in Asheville, NC; and February 15 in Indianapolis, IN. The January 31 meeting will be the only meeting and location at which presentations will be made.
The meetings come as a result of the agency’s having issued new advice last August increasing the minimum age for the export of wild ginseng roots to a minimum age of 10 years; the previous age limit was 5 years. (This issue was covered in Herbal-E-Gram in September 2005).
FWS is the federal agency that implements, monitors, and administers rulings on plants and animals listed in CITES (Convention in Trade in Endangered Species) in the United States. Wild American ginseng has been listed by CITES on its Appendix II (threatened status) since 1975.
More information is available from the FWS via either of the following divisions: Division of Scientific Authority: e-mail: scientificauthority@fws.gov; Division of Management Authority, Branch of Permits at 1-800-358-2104 (toll free) or 703-358-2104, or mangementauthority@fws.gov.
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