TOMPKINS - On Aug. 29, Environmental Police Officers Dustin Osborne and Nathan Doig received a trespassing complaint in the town of Tompkins. The complainant advised there were two people trespassing on a large tract of remote land, possibly harvesting ginseng ahead of season, which began on Sept. 1.
Osborn and Doig responded to the area and located an SUV and small utility trailer hidden off-road on a logging trail. They spoke to nearby residents who explained the owner of the vehicle may be an individual who recently obtained multiple logging contracts in the area and was potentially out marking timber. The properties covered by the alleged timber contracts consisted of approximately 2,000 acres with 51 separate properties, all off-road.
They eventually located two individuals on an ATV with their hands and knees soiled with dirt, unusual for a crew marking timber, but a potential indicator of ginseng collectors. The two subjects, identified as Cory J. Newman, 53, and Kevin M. Wormuth, 67, both of Hancock, denied digging for ginseng, but a search around the ATV produced a small dufflebag hidden in a briar patch. The bag contained 13 ginseng roots harvested on the property, illegally and out of season. Newman and Wormuth, a press release said, posed as loggers to gain access to the vast tract of land and steal ginseng from posted property. They were both charged with a total of six tickets for poaching ginseng out of season and without permission from landowners.
When harvested and dried, American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) can be a valuable resource. However, New York has strict laws regulating ginseng, including an established season (Sept. 1 – Nov. 30), age of the plant which may be legally harvested, and landowner permission when harvesting. American ginseng is a native perennial herb and an important forest crop.
More information on the laws and regulations of American ginseng can be found on the DEC website: dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/american-ginseng
