Paul, Thank you for your posting. As someone who does travel for orchids, I appreciate the specific references you list. One needs an education to sort through the regulations. Such would be an excellent topic for a seminar at a conference. If a traveler is hand carrying perhaps a few flasks, one needs a Phyto-sanitary Certificate. If the Customs and Border Patrol officer does not allow one to carry the flasks on through, one can ask them to consult "chapter and verse"... Section 23.64, 23.92 and "part 24 of this subchapter and 7 CFR parts 319, 352, and 355." Sounds like it would be worth the extra weight in one's luggage to carry a oopy of the applicable regulations, 'tabbed and highlighted'! Unfortunately the language still leaves room for the officer or traveler to interpret the regs. The revisions refer to plain easy to understand language. Right. How many travelers have seen the officer consult a copy of the regs and scratch their head trying to understand, to interpret? I suggest that the regulations should be written much more specifically. Such action would streamline the process. One can wait for hours waiting for a decision. Every port of entry should be required to have at least one officer on duty on every shift who is throughly familiar with the regulations. We should be treated equally well at ANY port of entry. This is the minimum that we should be provided. If there was any doubt I am complaining. Like the old saying "The right to complain comes with the resposibility to suggest a solution." If you have a tip or idea for me on how to start or pursue changing the procedures or even the regs, please tell me here or off forum. Enjoy your orchids! Lee
p.s. Thanks to all who responded to my Oct 6 email. Related to the above we've chosen LAX for our port of entry. Lee Bredeson [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.classicorchidtours.com <--- NEW! > -------- Original Message -------- > From: Paul Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Fri, September 28, 2007 9:59 pm > To: "the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD)" <orchids@orchidguide.com> > On Sep 28, 2007, at 1:53 PM, Aaron J. Hicks wrote: > > The exemption for flasked seedlings is not recognized by > > the United States. Europe and other countries may recognize the > > "washing" > > of "illegal" (?) plants by passage through sterile culture, but not > > the United States. > AJ, > Well, if flasked seedlings are not permitted by the USFWS, then > somebody needs to tell the Ag inspectors in Miami, Atlanta, and DFW. > I brought in many flasks from Costa Rica, up front, inspected, and > passed with nothing more than a phytosanitary permit for paperwork. > Though there probably is a difference between hand-carried and > shipped. Fortunately, for hand-carried specimens plant material > inspection is generally conducted by non-FWS personnel. > Unfortunately, nowadays those are not necessarily USDA persons, but > are Homeland Security employees, and the current generation of > employees are not as well trained and are more liable to be bullying > bureaucrats as opposed to the previous generations - and that being > not only experienced, but confirmed by a high ranking USDA-PPQ officer. > More importantly, the following is on page 48494 of the 23 August > 2007 Federal Register, vol. 72, no. 163 (the pdf is available, and I > can send it to you if you would like. It is a 93 page document > entitled Revision of Regulations Implementing the Convention on > International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora > (CITES)). The PDF can also be had at http://www.fws.gov/permits/ > FederalRegister/FederalRegister.shtml. Downpage to the CITES > documents. CITES documents are available at www.cites.org. This is > most important as there are provisions and new regulations dealing > with at least Appendix I plants, per your further comment. . . > > Ergo, plants exported without CITES permits that are propagated in > > sterile culture that are then brought into the > > United States are considered "fruit of the poison tree," and they > > and their subsequent progeny are considered illegal. Except, perhaps, > > their hybrids- which are also exempted under the treaty. > pj > § 23.92 Are any wildlife or plants, and their parts, products, or > derivatives, exempt? > (a) All living or dead wildlife and plants in Appendix I, II, and III > and all > their readily recognizable parts, products, and derivatives must meet > the > requirements of CITES and this part, except as indicated in paragraph > (b) of > this section. > (b) The following are exempt from the requirements of CITES and do > not need > CITES documents. You may be required to demonstrate that your specimen > qualifies as exempt under this section. For specimens that are exempt > from > CITES requirements, you must still follow the clearance requirements for > wildlife in part 14 of this subchapter and for plants in part 24 of this > subchapter and 7 CFR parts 319, 352, and 355. > (1) Appendix-III wildlife and Appendix-II or -III plants. > (i) Where an annotation designates what is excluded from CITES > requirements, any part, product, or derivative that is specifically > excluded. > (ii) Where an annotation designates what is covered by the Treaty, > all parts, > products, or derivatives that are not designated. > (2) Plant hybrids. > (i) Seeds and pollen (including pollinia), cut flowers, and flasked > seedlings or tissue cultures of hybrids that qualify as artificially > propagated > (see § 23.64) and that were produced from one or more Appendix-I > species or > taxa that are not annotated to specifically include hybrids in the > CITES list. > (ii) Specimens of an Appendix-II or -III plant taxon with an > annotation that > specifically excludes hybrids. > (3) Flasked seedlings of Appendix-I > orchids. Flasked seedlings of an > Appendix-I orchid species that qualify > as artificially propagated (see § 23.64). > _______________________________________________ > the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) > orchids@orchidguide.com > http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
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