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Rural Action
19627 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 157
Trimble, OH 45782
phone: 740-767-4938
FAX: 740-767-4957
E-mail Rural Action:
info@ruralaction.org
E-mail Sustainable Forestry:
forestry@ruralaction.org
Rural Action Home
Forestry Home
Fall 2004
Grapevine Articles:
Ginseng Poaching
Rural Action Teams with NCCC
Other Archived
Grapevine Articles:
Articles 2001
Dennis Hosack,
Director of Conservation-based Development
FORESTRY STAFF
Chip Carroll,
NTFP Research, Education & Demonstration Coordinator
Cynthia Brunty, Forestry Administrative Specialist
Shana Byrd,
Outreach &Membership Specialist
Dave Schatz,
Outreach Forester
Elise George,
VISTA
Linda Hirst,
VISTA
Beverly Burdette,
VISTA
Philip Siegrist ,
VISTA
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The
Grapevine
Selected articles from our 2004 newsletter
Continued
Progress Handling Ginseng Poaching Issue;
Rural Action Supports Grower in Case
by Chip Carroll, NTFP Research, Education & Demonstration
Coordinator
Poaching is one of the largest problems facing ginseng growers and wild
ginseng populations in Appalachian Ohio. On September 8th, 2003 Chip
Carroll of Rural Action Forestry received a phone call from an Ohio
ginseng grower who had caught several poachers red-handed in his ginseng
patch
in August. The grower had been watching his roots disappear for about
ten days before he decided to take a day off of work and stake out
his beds. He caught two poachers, then called the local sheriff and
the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), who came out and arrested them.
The poachers had already sold some of the fresh root to a local buyer
for around $50 per pound. An investigation ensued and it was determined
that the root buyer had purchased the roots out of season and did not
keep the appropriate records as required by law for the transactions.
In February 2004 Rural Action and the Roots of Appalachia Growers Association
(RAGA) enlisted the help of Richard Renner of Tate & Renner Law
Offices to provide council for the grower, at no charge. In March of
2004 Rural
Action and RAGA met with the grower, prosecutor and wildlife investigator
to explore possible prosecution routes for the buyer. Everyone at the
meeting was very cooperative and open to discussion of why this was
such a serious crime.
The following week, the case went to court where the buyer pleaded
no contest and was sentenced to forfeit his license to buy or sell
ginseng
for at least one year, 20 hours of community service and 30 days in
jail (suspended upon terms of his 1-year probation). The buyer also
had to
pay his related court costs and return the roots to the rightful owner.
The poachers have yet to be sentenced at the time of this publication.
All told, this grower suffered losses of over 16 pounds of fresh root
worth $1,300-$1,600, not to mention the cost of seed and labor put
into growing the plants. The grower hopes that by sharing his experience
with
others, including law enforcement personnel, he can help prevent this
from happening to other growers.
The Rural Action Forestry Program has been working on the issue of
ginseng poaching since 1999. Work has primarily focused on the opening
date for
the harvest season and cultivation and security issues. A committee
composed of members of RAGA, harvesters and botanists has provided
guidance in
developing a plan for pursuing this issue.
The committee has been able to meet with and drum up support from the
Ohio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR), who in 2003 moved the opening
of the harvest season from August 15th to September 1st. We have begun
an educational campaign including the development of a website, (www.growginseng.org),
dedicated to ginseng poaching issues, development of educational materials
and handouts and a new "Grow it, don’t poach it – Protect
Appalachian Heritage" t-shirt.
Currently we are collecting stories from individuals who have been
poached and interview those who are willing to share stories about
ginseng growing,
harvesting and poaching. We will produce an educational video in 2004
aimed at educating the judges, prosecutors and law enforcement personnel
about the importance of combating the poaching problem here in Ohio.
If you would like to get involved or have a story about growing ginseng
to share, please contact Chip Carroll at (740) 742-4401 or chipc@ruralaction.org.
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Rural
Action Teams with NCCC to restore, revitalize
by Andrew Bashaw and Andy Underwood-Bultmann
Two teams of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) have
been in Appalachian Ohio for two-month service projects in conjunction
with Rural Action. The first group of corps members arrived March 9th
to address issues involving soil erosion and acid mine drainage in the
areas of Meigs County and the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region
of northern Athens County.
NCCC is a division of AmeriCorps, which is the National and Community
Service organization that deploys teams of Corps Members, ages 18-24,
to areas around the country to complete a range of service projects.
NCCC worked with Rural Action Forestry, the Rural Action Research and
Education Center, the Glouster Village Council, and Sunday Creek Watershed
Group, to focus on trail maintenance, facility improvements, tree planting,
restoration and environmental education.
Rural Action Research and Education (RARE) Center Project
The RARE Center, located in Meigs County near Rutland, OH, is an educational
facility for rural landowners to learn about opportunities for land stewardship.
The 68-acre forested property has extensive areas devoted to medicinal
herb research. Corps members improved existing trails and constructed
new trails, worked on a network of interpretive signs for self-guided
tours, prepared research beds, and controlled invasive plant species.
Rural Action Sustainable Forestry Demonstration Project
The crew began "phase one" of converting an abandoned lot in
Glouster into an educational park that highlights non-timber forest products
and provides green space in the downtown area of the village.
Sunday Creek Watershed Project
Watershed day camps have been a great success in Sunday Creek for raising
awareness and for promoting cooperation among local schools, Sunday Creek
Watershed Group (SCWG) and Rural Action Environmental Learning Program
(ELP). The crew will be working with SCWG to conduct educational day
camps for kids. Three day-long watershed day camps are offered in Chauncey,
Glouster, and Corning at local facilities including the high school.
Each camp has 12 to 20 children in grades 6 and 7. ELP will provide training
for all NCCC crewmembers on working with children and camp lessons and
activities.
The crew also helped maintain the 5.5 mile section of the Ohio Buckeye
Trail adopted by SCWG by clearing branches from the trail, marking blazes
and picking up trash. Trash is a visible problem throughout the watershed,
littering the streams and forests; especially problematic are large illegal
dump sites.
The NCCC crew helped plant seedlings on barren hillsides and large trees
along eroded stream banks in Corning to curb larger erosion problems
in the Sunday Creek watershed.
Glouster Village Project
In cooperation with the Glouster Village Council, NCCC worked to improve
public green spaces and paint public facilities. This effort strives
to improve the quality of life and aesthetic beauty of the town as well
as create a welcoming environment for local investment and entrepreneurship.
The team plans to replace the roof on the local park pavilion and paint
other village buildings.
The NCCC Program
The five areas AmeriCorps NCCC serves are education, unmet human needs,
public safety, environment and disaster relief. Corps members must complete
1,700 hours of service during their 10-month term. In exchange for their
service, corps members receive $4,725 to help pay for college or repay
student loans. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National
and Community Service. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply.
Many programs have no upper age limit.
For more information visit www.americorps.org or call 1-800-942-2677.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities with Rural Action, contact
Andrew Bashaw at 740-767-2090 or andrew@ruralaction.org.
Andrew Bashaw is a Rural Action Forestry VISTA leader of special projects
and Andy Underwood-Bultmann is an AmeriCorps NCCC member.
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