Native Plant Permits Needed?

14 years ago

I have been aware since this past spring that private gardeners need to apply for permits to share plants listed by our state Plant Conservation Program as endangered, threatened, or of special concern.

This means that if I have these plants that I have legally acquired and want to share, through propagation or division, with another private gardener, I cannot do so without a permit issued by the state..and this is not such an easy task. (Not selling; no money involved; just sharing.)

There are currently 419 plants on this list, only about 50 garden worthy, but half of those are readily available in the trade, such as Andiantum capillus-veneris, Baptisia alba, Camassia scilloides, Primula meadia, Echinacea purpurea, Jeffersonia diphylla, Pachysandra procumbens...and more!

Question: What regulations exist in other states that prohibit private gardeners in this manner?

I am 100% behind preservation efforts in which the government or a private land trust holds property where such rare plants grow, and I am also 100% against wild collecting, selling, etc., without permission or permits, even from the side of the road.

Please respond off list if you can send me your states' regulations regarding sharing of certain native plants.

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Comments (7)

fatamorgana2121
14 years ago
I could find nothing specifically about my state (NY) requiring a permit. But this page from the state department of conservation referenced a federal law which would also apply to your location. I attached the link below.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: NYS DEC Plant Rarity and the Law
Lynda Waldrep
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for your quick reply and the link. Nothing in this information talks about private gardeners sharing plants. I hope GW people from other states will send in their state's regulations so that I may compare.

I am really in need of data, and I am sure I will find the laws about other states very interesting as your link was for NY. Again, I appreciate your posting this.
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fatamorgana2121
14 years ago
Glad to help.

I didn't see anything in any of the pages I looked at with regards to needing a permit to sell, trade, or otherwise handle such plants in NY State.

Now that said there are other regulations that may come into play. I know some plants, like ginseng (Panax spp.) fall under CITES restrictions. But these regulations wouldn't be applicable to the situations or plants you were originally asking about. I included the CITES link below. There is also a US Fish and Wildlife Service CITES page which has specific species called out. Again, not applicable to the situation you ask about but very specific plants and rules.

By the way, I only know about CITES because of being an herbalist and having read about ginseng restrictions before through United Plant Savers.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: CITES
Lynda Waldrep
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, I know about CITES because NARGS will not accept seeds of those plants for the exchange. Also, NC has specific rules for Ginseng, Sarracenias, Dionaea muscipula.

Owners of private property where such plants are found can do anything at the site, even destroy them, BUT they cannot share them or give them away.Seems the rare plant people would rather see species disappear than be in people's gardens.

I again ask for people in other states to send me whatever regulations exist in regards to their "rare" plants.
terrestrial_man
13 years ago
I would think that you need to look more closely at the laws regarding the gifting of listed protected plants that occur on your property. I believe the laws are designed to prevent wholesale harvest and marketing of such species by third parties from your property. I know of organizations that rescue native orchids and then sell them. You may want to contact your state representatives for assistance in dealing with understanding those state laws.
Lynda Waldrep
Original Author
13 years ago
Terrestrial,

You are correct re the INTENT of the law, but the unintended consequences are what I have already described, i.e., I cannot gift plants without a permit.

Beginning in October, 2012, nurseries will not be able to sell anything from the wild, even if the site was to be destroyed. In the past, rescued plants, with appropriate permits, could be sold.

I have already spent hours in conversation with the staff that controls these regulations, and I have attended a formal presentation, so I do know what the law is.

I am not so much interested in the nursery situation as I am in the private gardener one. I hate to feel like a criminal when I share plants, and getting a permit for each species each year will place a burden on the agency that is supposed to be protecting the preserves that it manages...as well as creating much busywork for gardeners, if they want to be lawful.

Each state is different, and that is why I am asking GW members to let me know if there are legal impediments to sharing for private gardeners. Some states have laws under their Natural Heritage program, but in NC we have a separate agency. Researching each state by computer has proved difficult as I don't know what agency controls this part of their agriculture program. I am really frustrated.
eahamel
13 years ago
It sounds like they are mindlessly copying CITES. CITES allows landowners to destroy rare and endangered plants, but does NOT permit them to be collected so they can be saved before the property is cleared. I can see no sense in this whatsoever.

Texas doesn't have any regulations like that. We can go to public lands, in fact, and collect native plants if we want to. I know there are protected plants, but don't know the regulations. But there is a Texas Naturalist program, through the extension service, and we didn't learn about anything like the restrictions your state is imposing.

Native Plant Permits Needed?

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