Section I
Statutory Authority
This rule is established by the Agency of
Agriculture, Food and Markets under the authority granted the
Secretary at
6 V.S.A., §
4029 "Rules; distribution;
penalties',
6 V.S.A. §
4031, 'Plants taken from the wild',
and
6
V.S.A., §
1(a)
(10), 'General powers of agency;
secretary of agriculture, food and markets'.
Section II Definitions
1. "Agency" means the Vermont
Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
2. "Collecting" means cutting,
gathering, rooting, severing, injuring, destroying, removing,
transplanting, harvesting, or carrying away any ginseng plants or
parts thereof for commercial purposes.
3. "Ginseng" means the roots in
whole, part, or in any form, of American Ginseng ( Panax
quinquefolius L.).
4.
"Cultivated Ginseng" means ginseng growing under controlled
conditions from seed, roots, or rootlets planted in prepared beds
either in woods or under the shade of artificial structures, wild
ginseng transplanted from its original location and subsequently
subjected to controlled conditions, or ginseng otherwise manipulated
by horticultural practices, and collectively includes ginseng defined
or described as 'artificially propagated', 'woods-grown',
'woods-cultivated' or 'field grown'.
5. "Ginseng Collector" means a
person who collects wild ginseng.
6. "Green Ginseng" means ginseng
root from which the moisture has not been removed by
drying.
7. "Wild Ginseng"
means ginseng growing, living or found in a natural state.
8. "Ginseng Dealer" means any
person selling certified ginseng, or moving certified ginseng
interstate for commercial gain.
9. "Foreign Ginseng" means ginseng
not originating from within the borders of the State of Vermont.
10. "Ginseng Collector's
Permit" means the permit issued by the Secretary which enables a
person to collect wild ginseng within this state between September 1
and October 31 of a given year when done in accordance with these
rules and 6 V.S.A. Chapter 206.
11. "Ginseng Dealer's Permit" means
the permit issued by the Secretary which enables a person to act as a
ginseng dealer within this state when done in accordance with these
regulations and 6 V.S.A. Chapter 206.
12. "Person" means any individual,
partnership, corporation or other business entity.
13. "Secretary" means the Secretary
of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets or their
designee.
14.
"Wild-Simulated Ginseng" means ginseng grown from cultivated seeds
planted in hardwood forests without any other human intervention
(e.g. removal of vegetation, application of fertilizers, pesticides),
has wild ginseng-like characteristics, and therefore is for all
practical purposes, indistinguishable from wild ginseng.
Section III Permits
Issued by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture
1. Ginseng Collector's Permit
(A) Every person engaged in the
collection of wild ginseng in Vermont for commercial purposes shall
apply for and have in their possession prior to collecting wild
ginseng a ginseng collector's permit. Applications for permits shall
be made on forms supplied by the Secretary.
A permit shall be issued by the Secretary only after
receipt of the completed forms and payment in full of applicable fees
as established in statute at the time of application.
(B) Term of Permit
Ginseng collector's permits shall be valid for a
period of three years from the date of issuance, from April 1 to
March 31, inclusive, and Permits issued during a calendar year shall
be good through the end of that calendar year, and for the two
complete subsequent licensure years following (to March 31).
2. Ginseng
Dealer's Permit
(A) A dealer in
ginseng shall be required to have a valid dealer's permit prior to
engaging in commerce in Vermont wild ginseng, applied for and
received in compliance with these rules. Applications for permits
shall be made on forms supplied by the Secretary.
Persons engaging in commerce in cultivated ginseng
will be considered dealers and shall apply for and receive a ginseng
dealer's permit prior to submission of cultivated roots for
certification under Section V.
(B) Term of Permit
Ginseng dealer's permits shall be valid for a period
of three years from the date of issuance, from April 1 to March 31,
inclusive, and Permits issued during a calendar year shall be good
through the end of that calendar year, and for the two complete
subsequent licensure years following (to March 31).
(C) In cases where a population of
wild ginseng is in imminent danger of destruction due to land
development or other pressures, the Secretary may grant single-use
variances allowing transplantation of endangered plants to a location
safe from encroachment or development. The variance will be presented
in the form of a permit. Specific details, including (but not limited
to) how many plants are eligible, locations of plants, their
destination and treatment will be included in the permit conditions.
Under no circumstances shall the Secretary grant a
permittee the right to collect underage ginseng, or collect
appropriately-aged ginseng out of season for the purposes of
certification and entrance into commerce. Furthermore, any wild
ginseng transplanted under such permit will remain wild, by
definition and practice, and cannot be subjected to horticultural
practices with the intent of converting wild or wild simulated
ginseng to cultivated ginseng.
Any commerce in salvaged plants remains subject to
applicable international treaties, Federal and State laws, and these
rules, variances notwithstanding.
Section IV Collection,
Cultivation and Sale of American Ginseng
1. Collecting Wild Ginseng
(A) Season
(i) Wild ginseng shall only be
collected yearly between September 1 and October 31.
(ii) No person shall purchase
ginseng, knowing the same to have been harvested between the first (1
[st ]) day of November and the 31 [st ] day of August.
(B) Maturity
(i) Only plants with at least three
five-leaflet leaves (or three prongs or more) shall be
collected.
(ii) Plants
with green, unripe fruit (seeds) shall not be collected.
(C) Seeds
Any ripe seed which is found on any collected wild
ginseng at the time of collection shall be planted in the immediate
locale from which the root was taken.
2. Ginseng Collectors
(A) No person shall collect wild
ginseng for commercial purposes without first obtaining a permit to
do so from the Secretary, using forms provided by the
Secretary.
(B) Collectors
are responsible for obtaining permission to collect wild ginseng on
property owned by persons other than themselves.
Collection of ginseng on State or Federal lands
without a written permit issued by an appropriate authority is
prohibited.
(C)
Any collector who enters ginseng directly into interstate commerce
shall be considered a ginseng dealer under Section VI.
(D) Upon receipt of completed forms
and fees, the Secretary may issue a ginseng collector's permit.
Collector's permits shall be valid during the period September 1 to
October 31 for three years from the date of issuance, including the
year of issuance. It shall further provide that any wild ginseng root
collected must be certified by the Secretary by March 31 of the year
following collection.
The Secretary may suspend, revoke, or refuse to
grant any collector's permit for any violation of 6 V.S.A. Chapter
206, or these rules.
Section V Certification of Roots
1. All wild ginseng roots intended
for export from Vermont shall be certified by the Secretary, using
forms provided by the Agency. Certification must occur on or before
March 31 of the year immediately following collection by the
Secretary before export. Certification shall include the weight of
roots submitted for certification. Inspection of roots to verify
maturity shall be made at this time. Roots without crown or neck
portion may not be certified unless age can be determined.
(A) The Secretary shall only
certify wild ginseng roots ten (10) years of age or older for export,
as determined by counting bud scale scars on necks or by other
generally recognized and accepted means.
(B) No ginseng less than ten (10)
years of age may be certified for export, with the exception of the
following, which shall be confirmed through written oath or affidavit
at the time of certification;
(i) A
collector may harvest and submit for certification seven (7), eight
(8), or nine (9) year old ginseng collected and harvested from land
owned by the collector, and
(ii) The collector's own land from
which 7-9 year old ginseng is harvested must be a minimum of five (5)
contiguous acres in size or be presently enrolled in the Vermont use
value appraisal program with the Vermont Department of
Taxes.
(C) The
Secretary shall have the right of entry to privately owned property
from which 7-9 year old ginseng is collected and submitted for
certification solely for purposes of verifying the identity of wild
ginseng on those properties.
2. Foreign ginseng may not be
imported into Vermont without first being certified by the state of
origin.
Foreign ginseng, brought into Vermont with intent to
transplant (replant), having been certified prior to movement by the
state of origin, shall not be recertified as Vermont wild ginseng
after replanting and any subsequent collection. In this case,
replanted ginseng may only be certified by the Secretary as
cultivated.
It shall be the responsibility of the transporting
party(ies) and any subsequent collectors/dealers to maintain
certification traceability.
3. Certification of cultivated
ginseng will be performed as requested or required to verify state of
origin and non-wild status only. Vermont cultivated ginseng is not
subject to either the minimum age or harvest season certification
criteria.
4. Green wild
ginseng root will only be eligible for certification with the entire
neck and annual bud portions attached, in order to verify collection
occurred during the dormant season. Any green root without attached
dormant buds present will not be eligible for certification and will
be subject to seizure.
Green ginseng must be certified no later than
December 31 of the year in which it was collected.
5. The Secretary may seize any
ginseng found not to be in compliance with these rules.
Section VI Ginseng
Dealers
1. Permit
Any ginseng dealer who buys wild or cultivated
ginseng in Vermont shall obtain a Ginseng Dealer's Permit from the
Secretary. This permit shall be valid for a period of three years,
inclusive. Application shall be made on forms provided by the
Secretary.
2.
Records
Ail ginseng dealers shall keep records, on forms
furnished by the Agency, of all commerce in ginseng. These records
will include date of transaction, month collected, status of roots
(green or dry, wild or cultivated), county where collected, weight of
ginseng bought or sold, average age of roots, approximate number of
roots per pound, collector's-permit number, and signature of
collector. These records shall be kept for a period of three years
and shall be made available to the Agency at the time of
certification and upon request.
3. Certification
Ginseng dealers when dealing in Vermont ginseng
shall handle only ginseng certified in accordance with of these
rules.
4. Foreign
Ginseng
Ginseng dealers purchasing ginseng from outside of
Vermont shall be responsible for documenting compliance with these
rules. Information on improprieties should be reported to the Agency
immediately upon observation of the impropriety.
5. Out of State Dealers
Ginseng dealers based outside Vermont dealing in
Vermont wild ginseng shall have in their possession a valid Vermont
Ginseng Dealer's Permit prior to requesting certification of their
Vermont-sourced ginseng.
6. Denial, Suspension, or
Revocation of Permits
The Secretary may suspend, revoke, or refuse to
grant any Ginseng Dealer's Permit for any violation of 6 V.S.A.
Chapter 206 or these rules.
