In short, the United States has a regulatory agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) called APHIS/PPQ. In a nutshell, they help keep the bugs and pathogens that ride on plants out of the country. A very important job, I think we'll all agree.
However, even bringing small quantities of seeds into the country has required a phytosanitary certificate, which has fees and a paperwork burden associated with it. While this is of great importance when bringing, say, a ton of kumquats or perhaps a few cubic yards of cotton seed, it has been difficult to argue that this sort of regulation is necessary for, say, 100 mg of cactus seed, or a few grams of water lily seeds. The USDA has finally seen fit that people "have been adversely affected by the phytosanitary requirement" for this sort of thing, and comments are currently being accepted until 28 June, 2004. The docket number is 02-119-1, and the relevant information as to how to submit your own comments may be found below.
Those of you that have hobby or professional interest in this subject are advised to weigh in to express your concerns. While I have conflicting opinions on the subject, I generally agree that responsible shipping of CLEAN seed (of non-invasive species, of course!) benefits us all. Hopefully, if the regulations are changed in favor of the small grower, we can prove to be responsible growers that can self-regulate in a manner that minimizes risk while allowing us to enjoy the plants we love.
Anyone who wishes to receive the .doc file from the USDA may e-mail me off the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED], and I will cheerfully send a copy in their direction.
Full disclosure: I run the Orchid Seedbank Project, and have what most would consider to be a vested interest in streamlined shipping of seeds.
Cheers,
-AJHicks Chandler, AZ
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You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery, or by e-mail.
For additional information, see attached link:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html or contact:
Dr. Arnold Tschanz, Senior Staff Officer, Regulatory Coordination Staff, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 141, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-5306.
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