Efforts to restore ginseng populations on both National Forests are ongoing. However, wild populations of the plant currently remain too low to sustainable harvest for the foreseeable future. 

“We stopped issuing permits for ginseng harvesting in 2021, when the data began to show a trend toward lower and lower populations each year,” said Gary Kauffman, botanist for the National Forests in North Carolina. “We’re seeing that trend reversing slightly, but ginseng plants take a long time to mature before they reach the peak age to start bearing seeds.

”Native to western North Carolina forests, wild ginseng is a perennial plant that can live for 60-80 years. It can take up to 10 years before a ginseng plant will start producing the most seeds; however, overharvesting in the past has made older plants increasingly rare. To help revitalize ginseng populations on the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, the Forest Service has partnered with Mountain Horticulture and Research Center to establish seed production beds and propagate individual plants. Seeds and seedlings have been used to augment existing or establish new populations on both national forests. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program is helping to monitor the wild populations.

To protect ginseng plant populations, anyone removing wild ginseng plants or its parts on National Forest lands while the pause is in place may be fined up to $5,000, given up to a 6-month sentence in federal prison, or both.

“Harvesting ginseng has a long tradition in western North Carolina, so we owe it to future generations to help keep that tradition alive by doing our part to conserve this treasured resource,” said Kauffman. “Otherwise, it could potentially become the next native species to disappear in these mountains completely.”