ALBANY --
It may sound funny to hear about people arrested for illegal ginseng trafficking. This is the stuff Larry King hawks on the radio, remember.
But this is serious business, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. With the sale of ginseng root becoming a $50- million-a-year industry in New York, the time is ripe for illegal harvesting of the plant.
Last Monday, DEC charged a Catskills man and a Washington County man each with possessing more than 2,000 ginseng plants -- total value of between $4,500 and $5,600. Under a law enacted this year, each man could receive a $250 fine and 15 days of jail for each plant.
``New York ginseng , especially Catskills ginseng , is known around the world for its high quality,'' said Doug Schmid, a DEC forester. With Asian species of the plant threatened with extinction, Schmid said, ``There's been an increased demand for American ginseng the last few years.''
In fact, wild American ginseng currently commands $400 to $500 per pound.
Ginseng , marketed through products like Ginsana and others, is thought by some to slow aging, reduce stress and boost the immune system. The Western medical establishment, however, is skeptical about whether the plant provides any benefits. Its popularity has increased in the last few years through the endorsement of King and basketball star Scottie Pippen.
The plant grows naturally across the state, but the business of picking it is mostly limited to the Catskills, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier, according to DEC. New York licenses about 500 ginseng dealers, located mostly around New York City.
The plant is listed as ``protected,'' a category slightly less serious than ``endangered,'' in New York. Schmid said it grows in about 20 states.
The state Legislature was concerned enough last spring to pass a law regulating the herb. To insure that demand doesn't result in it being stripped from the ground, legislators set the piccking seasoon to run between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 and forbids the sale of dried wild ginseng before Sept. 15.Lawmakers also set the maximum penalty for illegal picking as a $250 fine and 15 days in jail per plant. The bill also said only ripe plants (those with red berries) could be harvested and that seeds from a harvested root had to replanted within 50 feet of the plant.
Tipped that harvesting was going on during the summer, DEC set up a sting operation to catch buyers. On Sept. 9, a Catskills man and a Washington County man were charged with purchasing the medicinal herb before the legal season.
Leon W. Wilber, 59, of Dresden, Washington County, and Alec Alberti, 53, of Windham, Greene County, were issued court summonses by DEC after raids at their respective homes on Sept. 5.
Wilbur is scheduled to appear in Dresden Town Court Sept. 19 and Alberti in Windham Town Court Oct. 11. ``It opened up a lot of eyes of diggers in New York who weren't aware of the law,'' said Schmid, who takes the herb occasionally.
- BY: Yancey Roy
- SOURCE: Gannett News Service1996.09.13
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