Monongahela National Forest will begin selling ginseng permits for the 2023 harvest season on Aug. 28. In addition to following all state laws, a forest service permit is required to dig ginseng on national forest system lands.
A permit can be purchased at the ranger stations in Parsons, Petersburg, Richwood, Bartow, Marlinton or White Sulphur Springs, or the supervisor’s office in Elkins, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Monongahela National Forest ginseng permits cost $20 each. A separate permit is required for each district on the forest. This year, a person may only buy one permit per district at a time. Each permit allows a person to collect up to 95 plants from one ranger district during the West Virginia ginseng season, Sept. 1 through Nov. 30. An additional permit can be purchased for the same district after a person returns each completed permit, as supplies allow.
Ginseng plants must have three or more prongs and have produced fruit this year to be legal for harvest. When harvesting, plant the fruit on-site and then keep the rest of the plant intact. Harvest no more than 24 plants per day and have no more than 24 plants in one’s possession while on national forest land.
For more information about state laws concerning ginseng harvest, refer to https://wvforestry.com/laws-regulations/ginseng/.
For more information about Monongahela National Forest ginseng permits, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mnf/passes-permits/forestproducts/?cid=FSEPRD597459.
