Native plants are targets

of botanical thieves on

Blue Ridge Parkway
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The National Park Service and federal prosecutors are cracking down on plant poachers and others who take illegal harvests from public lands.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently announced a series of poaching convictions stemming from poaching on public land in national forests and at Mount Mitchell State Park, with enforcement also beefing up along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Ten people were arrested on the parkway this year, receiving sentences ranging from six months to 30 days in jail.

They were also banned from national parks and forests for up to two years.

John Garrison, chief ranger for the Parkway, said the problem is widespread, and though the convictions were due to galax poaching, other flora and fauna were at risk.

All national park property is off limits for harvesting, and national forests are restricted to specific seasonal harvesting with a permit. Garrison said the problem also spreads onto private lands.

“Poachers don’t recognize county lines or property lines,” he said.

Galax poaching is particularly enticing because of a variety of markets. It’s used solely as a decorative ornamental in the floral industry, and Garrison said most of it is destined for European markets.

The habitat for the evergreen plant is narrow enough that poachers tend to target the North Carolina mountains and the western corner of Virginia.

It’s the most popular product to be harvested legally on national forest land and brings one to five cents per pound. The recent arrests resulted in the seizure of 50,000 plants.

Garrison said not only was the amount damaging to public land, but the harvest methods were often hasty and destructive.

“The level of impact is high because poachers are in a hurry to get in and out as fast as possible,” he said.

“It’s the dynamics of the market, and they are not as friendly to the plant as those who are harvesting it legally. It usually kills the plant.”

Galax is harvested legally by some private landowners, though Garrison said poaching is spreading everywhere.

It’s proven difficult to cultivate the crop outside its forest environment, so forest harvesting has gone from an occasional cash foray for mountain families to an international business.

Galax is not the only target of poachers, though it constitutes the most-harvested plant by weight. Ginseng remains the most valuable target of illegal harvests, especially since it brings $900 to $1,000 a pound and is popular across the globe in herbal markets. Garrison said the problem is so widespread that poachers are often sent with “shopping lists” that document the types of plants to steal.

“Ginseng is probably the most lucrative,” Garrison said, though other herbs such as black cohosh, bloodroot and goldenseal remain in demand.

Elm bark and log moss are also the targets of poachers, as well as decorative native-plant specimens like lady slipper and jack-in-the-pulpit.

Galax populations have been damaged or completely disappeared in some areas, and even those with permits often harvest recklessly or not in compliance with the permit restrictions.

The poachers often use vehicles to access remote areas and the tire tracks damage sensitive ecosystems.

Garrison pointed to combined efforts of local sheriffs’ departments, federal forest and park officials, and the U.S. Attorney’s office as evidence of the seriousness of the crimes.

The parkway has increased its number of patrol rangers to crack down on illegal harvesting.

“When galax is illegally taken and sold, it is theft for personal gain, just the same as stealing gravel from a DOT (Department of Transportation) stockpile and selling it, or stealing timber from a private landowner and selling it,” Garrison said.

“There is one additional impact in that the theft of galax has risen to a level that now threatens the health of the plant along the Blue Ridge Parkway and on other lands. I am encouraged that both private property owners and public land management agencies are supporting this enhanced effort to protect the natural heritage of our mountains.”

Poaching charges can also be augmented with penalties involving commercial activity on a public land, and Garrison said the charges might be increased if the problem grew worse.

Land management officials hope publicity about recent arrests will help deter other poachers.

“This sends a very clear message that landowners and prosecutors are taking this issue very seriously,” he said.
“People should respect public and private lands. This is not going to be laughed off as ‘flower picking’ anymore.”