Plant Importation and Lacey Act Provisions

brown.mark brown.mark@wanadoo.fr
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:18:01 PDT
I am reminded of what variuos french nursery people say about Euphorbia 
dulcis 'Cameleon'.It was found here in France by a "visiting" british 
plantsman or woman and some people here complain variously of that fact!!And 
that no one here has benifited from it's comercialisation.Whose fault is 
that?The plant was growing under their feet! I know of a few keen native 
collectors of native plants and their sports.Sorely this could be handsomely 
developped?I have found many really fabulous clones of galanthus here which 
fetch huge prices in Britain and elsewhere (not for me,I don't twin 
scale...)And now that interest of Hyacinthoides non-scripta clones are 
taking off it is clear that the northrn french populations are very 
interesting too!
I can easliy see a burgeoning industry of native plants bring quite handsome 
profits to local people trading in locally grown native plants and their 
variants.Just think of how the japanese have exploited their native flora 
for centuries!And they don't sell cheap!!But then why should they? Come on 
the rest of the world you are sitting on a gold mine!Don't just shut us out 
sell us healthy and fascinating plants that grow on your doorstep.
I am reminded of japanese visitors and when they see the dasies (Bellis 
perennis) in the lawn or even the Taraxacum officinale in the fields!They 
all want so badly to know what it is and have a root or some seed.I have 
given a good many interesting variants of native plants to them but rarely 
do they perform as well in the continental climate of most of Japan.I too 
love veriegated forms of wild plants/weeds!How many of you prefer the good 
form of Arisaema sikokianum with its' fabulous marbled leaves?It is a 
weed/wild plant in some parts of Japan.I have found really wonderful 
variegated forms of our native Arum maculatum.Even the seeds are variegated!
I just am gob smacked when I hear of laws forbidding plant collecting! It is 
another excuse to control resources by the centralized powers but which 
really belong to the landowners and farmers etc who live and work there.I 
would be delighted to buy any native grown native plants from any farmer or 
enterprising landowner and share my resources with them!Such unimaginative 
politicians should just crawl back under their rocks!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hannon" <othonna@gmail.com>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 11:49 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Plant Importation and Lacey Act Provisions


>
> This and similar changes in US and international laws will probably 
> support
> a growing shift away from independent parties organizing the importation 
> of
> plants and toward a higher degree of organized exportation of plants (cf.
> orchids) from countries of origin. In spite of some very real drawbacks 
> for
> us, this seems a good way to encourage native flora nurseries to develop 
> in
> foreign countries. Allowed to grow properly, this is to everyone's benefit
> in the long run.
> This process can also gradually raise awareness about the local benefits 
> of
> protecting plants and animals and their habitats. Better that they are 
> seen
> and appreciated as an emerging specialized commodity than to be destroyed
> because their value is never appreciated on any level that affords
> protection. On a more selfish note, without such home industry growth 
> there
> may be little hope of continuing viable and diverse imports of live plants
> and seeds.
> Still many questions remain:
>
> *If or how to discern collected legally (wild origin) from obtained/grown
> legally in a nursery?
>
> *Who if anyone will retain "ownership" of the material in perpetuity? If
> implemented, how does this carry to subsequent "owners" and subsequent
> generations of plants?
>
> *So-called benefit sharing-- practical limits and mechanisms here are very
> poorly developed or unconsidered for small lots of seeds and plants.
> Underlying ethical concepts have been put forth with little serious debate
> or counter-argument.
>
> *What provision will be made for these and future changes in law in
> countries that barely recognize such trade and have no legal mechanism for
> accommodating any process for such minimal demand?
>
> *Can a supplier be certified or will each transaction be a stand alone
> export?
>
> Even with ostensible benefits, by facilitating better practices and 
> possibly
> clearer rules of operation, there remain many hurdles as difficult or more
> challenging than those the laws attempt to remedy in the first place.
>
> With everything going on in global finance today, this dialogue has a
> familiar flavor.
>
>
> Dylan Hannon
>
> On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 1:14 PM, Boyce Tankersley <
> btankers@chicagobotanic.org> wrote:
>
>> Dear All:
>>
>> I want to share some information that recently came my way that will
>> impact importations of plants into the US.
>>
>> A last minute addendum to the Agricultural Appropriations bill passed
>> earlier this summer changed the Lacey Act as follows:
>>
>> "basically the Agriculture bill which is now law included new language
>> which amends the Lacey Act to include "any wild member of the plant
>> kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof" and give
>> the Secretary of Agriculture 180 days to come up with procedures for
>> clearances.
>>
>>  For animal specimens, the Lacey Act basically means that it is a felony
>> in the USA to import any animals that have been collected illegally
>> under any level of law at their point of origin, and the burden of
>> proving material is legally collected is on the collector and/or the
>> collection in which the material comes to reside.  It is among the most
>> pervasive of US laws because of the impact of making foreign law a
>> felony. For insects, it is often hard to prove that their export is not
>> regulated by particular countries, because often no regulatory office
>> has the authority to write a letter saying they don't regulate them, but
>> at the same time, they will tell you in person that they don't care
>> about insects."
>>
>> It appears that we will need a letter from the country of origin in the
>> future stating that the plants, seeds, roots, cuttings, etc. that we
>> import were collected legally.
>>
>> Boyce Tankersley
>> Director of Living Plant Documentation
>> Chicago Botanic Garden
>> 1000 Lake Cook Road
>> Glencoe, IL 60022
>> tel: 847-835-6841
>> fax: 847-835-1635
>> email: btankers@chicagobotanic.org
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