Ginseng collectors have until July 15 to put their names in the hat for the U.S. Forest Service’s annual lottery for ginseng harvest permits. 

The lottery system has been in place since 2013, when a marked reduction in wild ginseng numbers led the Forest Service to change its permit process. The decline was likely due to poaching, said Forest Service botanist Gary Kauffman, as ginseng is highly sought after in East Asia as a tonic.

The number of ginseng plants of harvestable size has decreased by 45 percent on forest lands, Kauffman said. 

A permit, of which 136 are issued, allows a person to harvest as much as 3 wet pounds of wild ginseng in the ranger district where the permit is issued within the two-week season of Sept. 1-15. 

Call or visit a ranger office to register for the lottery. Email requests not accepted.