[Federal Register: October 7, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 194)]
[Notices]
[Page 54631-54633]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07oc99-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Export of American Ginseng
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Service seeks comments and input on the conservation
status of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and the impact of
harvest and international trade on the species. This review of the
status of the species and related trade will assist in determining any
appropriate modification to export restrictions for wild American
ginseng during the 2000 harvest season and beyond.
DATES: We will consider comments and information submitted by all
interested parties by February 4, 2000.
ADDRESSES: You may submit any comments or information by mail to the
Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail
Stop ARLSQ-750, Washington, D.C. 20240, or via fax (703-358-2276). You
may also submit comments via E-mail to: r9osa@fws.gov. You may inspect
any comments and information we receive, by appointment only, from 8:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Office of Scientific
Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 750, Arlington, Virginia.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Javier Alvarez, Office of
Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail Stop ARLSQ-
750, Washington, D.C. 20240 (phone: 703-358-1708; fax: 703-358-2276; e-
mail: r9osa@fws.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) was listed in Appendix II of
the Convention on International
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Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on February
22, 1977. The Department of the Interior is designated by the U.S.
Endangered Species Act as both the CITES Management and Scientific
Authority, and is therefore obligated to regulate the export of
American ginseng, including whole plants, whole roots, and root parts.
Those functions have been delegated to the Office of Management
Authority and the Office of Scientific Authority of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Under the authority of the CITES treaty (Article IV),
implemented by the U.S. Endangered Species Act, we can only allow the
export of American ginseng from the United States if the Office of
Scientific Authority advises the Office of Management Authority that
such export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species, and
if the Office of Management Authority is satisfied that the specimens
to be exported were not obtained in contravention of any laws for their
protection (that is, they were legally acquired). CITES Article IV also
requires that the Scientific Authority monitor the exports of all
Appendix II species, including American ginseng, and determine whether
any such exports ``should be limited in order to maintain that species
throughout its range at a level consistent with its role in the
ecosystems in which it occurs and well above the level at which that
species might become eligible for inclusion in Appendix I * * *''
The Office of Scientific Authority uses a wide range of information
to ensure that the species remains at healthy population levels
throughout its range and to determine whether export of ginseng will
not be detrimental to the survival of the species. That information
includes but is not limited to the following: (1) Whether such export
occurred in the past, and has appreciably reduced abundance or
distribution of the species; (2) whether such export has or is expected
to increase, remain constant, or decrease; and (3) whether the life-
history parameters of the species indicate that the present and
projected levels of export will reduce appreciably the numbers or
distribution of the species. The information is available from State
regulatory agencies, industry representatives and associations, non-
governmental organizations, and academic researchers.
Under both the CITES treaty and the Endangered Species Act, the
Office of Scientific Authority has the option of issuing the required
scientific findings on a permit-by-permit basis, or programmatically on
a State-by-State basis. There are native U.S. species listed in
Appendix II for which the Office of Scientific Authority issues its
non-detriment findings to the Management Authority on a shipment-by-
shipment basis, while there are others for which the Office of
Scientific Authority issues findings on a State-by-State basis. Since
the inclusion of American ginseng in CITES Appendix II in 1977, the
Office of Scientific Authority has issued its findings on a State-by-
State basis.
To determine whether or not to approve exports of American ginseng
harvested in a State, the Office of Scientific Authority annually
reviews publicly available data from many sources, including each State
with a ginseng harvest program, on the general status of the species in
each State. Based on information available (such as pounds of wild
ginseng harvested; average roots/lb; average age of harvested plants
estimated by counting bud scars or converting dry weight to age; and
trends in abundance of wild ginseng populations as measured in field
surveys), the Office of Scientific Authority makes a finding on the
continued export of wild ginseng from a specific State. Information on
ginseng harvest programs are reviewed and compared with information
from previous harvest seasons by the Office of Scientific Authority and
Office of Management Authority on June of each year. Afterwards, a
finding on the export of ginseng to be harvested during the year in
question is made by the Office of Scientific Authority early in the
summer.
On August 2, 1999, the Office of Scientific Authority issued its
finding on the export of American ginseng harvested during the 1999
season from States with ginseng harvest programs. Although the Office
of Scientific Authority was able to make a positive finding, it was
able to do so only for ginseng roots 5 years old or older, and not for
all roots (as in previous years). We conditioned our non-detriment
finding after reviewing the best scientific information currently
available to the Office of Scientific Authority on the biology and
status of American ginseng. Through communications with biologists from
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and National Forests throughout the
species' range (including those in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), the Office of Scientific
Authority has become aware that ginseng plants are not only being over-
harvested in some parts of the country, but also that plants harvested
are not afforded the opportunity to reach reproductive age and produce
seeds. Independent ginseng researchers have contacted the Office of
Scientific Authority concerning their surveys of ginseng populations in
States that do not have wild ginseng harvest programs. They have found
further evidence that young ginseng plants are being harvested and that
ginseng populations may not be able to sustain harvest of such young
plants.
Given that wild ginseng does not propagate asexually, it is
critical that plants be allowed to reach reproductive age and produce
seeds prior to their harvest so as to ensure replacement of the
harvested plants and long-term survival of the species. Most ginseng
plants start producing seeds when they attain 2 leaves (also known as
prongs) at 3 to 4 years of age (R. C. Anderson, J. S. Fralish, J. E.
Armstrong, and P. K. Benjamin. 1984. Biology of ginseng, Panax
quinquefolius, in Illinois. Illinois Department of Conservation,
Division of Forest Resources and Natural Heritage, Springfield,
Illinois. 32 pages.) Ginseng plants add a third prong between 5 and 9
years of age, with the majority of them doing so when they are 7 years
old.
Based on the above information and to ensure that ginseng plants
harvested from the wild reach reproductive age and produce seeds for at
least two seasons, the Office of Scientific Authority requested in its
August 2, 1999 finding that the Office of Management Authority, which
is responsible for issuing CITES permits, condition permits for the
export of ginseng roots harvested from the wild in the 1999 season so
as to allow only export of roots that are 5 years of age or older.
Without the inclusion of an age-based condition in each CITES export
permit for wild American ginseng, we would not have found that the
harvest of ginseng from the wild during the 1999 season is not
detrimental to the survival of the species.
Most States with wild ginseng harvest programs (including Alabama,
Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) already
have regulations in place that prohibit the harvest of ginseng plants
with less than three prongs (compound leaves); that is, harvested
plants must be at least 5 years old. Therefore, the age-based
restriction of export of wild ginseng roots does not constitute any new
restriction on the harvest of wild ginseng roots in these States. We
are simply assisting the States in the enforcement of their own
regulations by
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discouraging individuals from digging plants that have not yet
reproduced, as well as discouraging dealers from purchasing roots of
young plants. Likewise, as of August 30, 1999, the U.S. Forest
Service--Eastern Region has also directed that permits for the
collection of wild ginseng on National Forest lands (including Shawnee
National Forest, Illinois; Hoosier National Forest, Indiana; Huron and
Manistee National Forests, Michigan; Chippewa and Superior National
Forests, Minnesota; Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri; Wayne
National Forest, Ohio; Alleghany National Forest, Pennsylvania; Green
Mountain National Forest, Vermont; Monongahela National Forest, West
Virginia; Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin) be restricted
to plants at least 5 years of age. Our ultimate objective is to prevent
the extirpation from the wild of this valuable natural resource and the
resultant negative economic impact this would have on citizens who
depend on this plant as a source of income.
The issuance of a ``non-detriment'' finding by the Scientific
Authority is required by both the Endangered Species Act and the CITES
treaty as one of the prerequisites that must be met before any export
permit can be issued for an Appendix-II species. As such, the non-
detriment finding is one of several administrative determinations that
comprise the decision-making process for the issuance of CITES permits.
Prior to 1994, we issued multi-year findings on exports of American
ginseng through a Notice in the Federal Register as an informational
matter. For the past several years, we issued our findings on an annual
administrative basis. New biological information available to us
precludes the issuance of a multi-year non-detriment finding. The
Service consulted with the ginseng program coordinators from all States
where harvest of wild ginseng is allowed, prior to the Office of
Scientific Authority issuing its 1999 finding.
The responsibility for inspection of all plant import and exports,
including shipments of ginseng, rests with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Policies on the inspection and clearance of plant shipments, including
ginseng, are made by APHIS. We work closely with APHIS, and continue to
work closely in the enforcement and implementation of the new permit
condition.
Public Comments Solicited
In anticipation of the ginseng harvest season for 2000 and beyond,
we are seeking information from the public, other concerned
governmental agencies, the scientific community, the trade industry, or
any other interested party on the status of ginseng populations in the
wild. We particularly seek biological and trade information concerning
the impact of ginseng harvest and international trade on wild
populations of the species, the current conservation status of the
species throughout its range, or other relevant data concerning any
threat to the species. Such information may lead us to modify current
restrictions on the export of wild American ginseng during the 2000
harvest season, and beyond.
Author: The primary author of this notice is Dr. Javier Alvarez,
Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail
Stop ARLSQ-750, Washington, D.C. 20240.
Dated: September 30, 1999.
Jamie Rappaport Clark,
Director.
[FR Doc. 99-26205 Filed 10-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-U