Ginseng, a plant often used for medicinal purposes, has been collected and exported for years in the Commonwealth, but officials with the Daniel Boone National Forest said they will not be issuing ginseng harvesting permits for the 2023 season that runs from September 1 to December 1.
David Taylor, botanist with Daniel Boone National Forest, said the ginseng population in the forest is appearing to decrease, which is most likely caused by animals, disease, or people poaching the plant. He said that decrease plays a big role in deciding whether or not to issue harvesting permits.
“We have records of populations that cannot be found. We had records, and go back and look for them, they cannot be found. The populations, when you find them tend to have one to five, one to 10 plants,” he said. “Occasionally, you get a few larger ones, 10 to 20, and rarely you might run across one that has 50 plants in it.”
However, Taylor said ginseng could still be harvested in other places, but there are rules to follow.
“It can be harvested as long as you follow Kentucky regulations for doing so, and you have landowner permission. So, you can’t harvest on the National Park for example. You can’t just go into your neighbor’s woods without their permission and pull it up," he said. “It’s not legal. People do it, but it’s not legal.”
While the Daniel Boone National Forest will not be issuing permits for harvesting ginseng, people may apply for permits to harvest other plants like black cohosh, yellowroot and goldenseal.
More information on ginseng harvesting regulations in the state can be found online.