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[GWL]: A dark day for diversity.

Hi Lon- thought I would pass this on to the members.  read and weep.
Dan Heims
Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
4309 SW Cullen Blvd.
Portland, OR 97221
(503)977-7808  (800)215-9450x21  FX=(503)244-2745
hortiholic@home.com
www.terranovanurseries.com

To all:

As dedicated gardeners, I am forwarding this information to you for
immediate consideration.  If this is a repeat, please forgive me for missing
your name from the first posting.

I spoke with Wade Roitsch of Yucca-Do and found out theat their latest trip
to Mexico got canceled in part because phytosanitary certificates were now
necessary for all propagules, starting September 21.  Both the Yucca-Do
people and the APHIS inspectors at the Los Indios border station assumed
this included seeds.

This makes seed importing difficult, since it will now require getting a
phyto from the country of origin.  Mexico does not have any real funding for
this service, and it will make importing seed from third world countries
essentially impossible except for the big bioengineering companies like
Amgen and Monsanto who have the funds and power to bring germ plasm across
borders.

Those of you that work with native American food crops, import seeds for
resale, propagation, or research, or run seed exchanges (seedex) for rock
garden societies need to keep yourselves informed of these developments.

>From Allen Bush:

Dear Richard,

   I'm afraid this does apply to seed. It's an old regulation that the USDA
has decided to enforce beginning on Sept 21st.
I enclose the stuff sent to me by the USDA. And yes imports from developing
countries, and those not a party to the WTO (World Trade Organization), will
become trickier to facilitate.

----------------------------------

[I've attached the Federal Register posting of the USDA regulations in the
original PDF (Acrobat) format, also in MS Word and WordPerfect format as
well.]

Seed exchanges:

Further communication with members of the North American Rock Garden Society
indicates that this will effectively end (for at least this year) the
contributions of foreign members to the annual NARGS seedex.  It will
probably impede arboretum and botanical garden Index Semina as well.  This
is of interest to gardeners in general, since many new plants are introduced
into the trade this way, after members of these organizations have trialed
out the new plants in their own gardens.

It also impacts collectors like Tony Avent (Plant Delights), Yucca-Do, Dan
Heims (TerraNova Nurseries), Dan Hinkley (Heronswood), and importers like
Allen Bush (Jellito Seeds) and Barry Yinger (Asiatica).

Even if the USDA can accept phytosanitary certificates, it is unlikely that
the appropriate agricultural inspection agents in Great Britain, France,
Switzerland, South Africa, Australia are prepared to issue them in the next
few months.  Let alone those agencies in third-world countries that are
overtaxed if not essentially non-functional.

While no one will argue against the need for protection from and the control
of invasive species, the hamfisted approach that is manifest in this initial
effort by the USDA  needs immediate attention and drastic improvement.  The
needs of all gardeners (especially as stewards of the earth) have to be
brought into the evolution of these regulations.

This material is certainly worthy of consideration by herb societies, garden
clubs, nurseries, botanical gardens, and collectors.

I appreciate your feedback on this topic.



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Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, North Carolina  27406 USA
336-674-3105
World of Salvias:  http://www.eclectasy.com/gallery_of_salvias/index.htm
Salvia email list:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Salvia

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