permits for seed collecting Dominican Republic to US

[Cindy Adair]

It looks like I'll have a chance for a quick trip to the Dominican Republic mid-March. It's likely I'll be stuck at a hotel since it's business related. However, you never know what I might find even on hotel grounds or the airport.

I'd heard from others at the Thailand Biennial that if I can find the correct websites, it could be legal to import some seeds. This would be more as a memento of the trip rather than expecting to find anything uncommon.

Any ideas?

[edbrown_III]

USDA APHIS is the office ---- google it with plant imports and you will get the path. I have one. Best regards Ed

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks Ed! It looks like this is the correct form http://www.aphis.usda.gov/library/forms/pdf/PPQ587.pdf

Does anyone have any idea how specific the plant names should be? I have no idea what common or unusual palm I could encounter, if any, with seeds. Would a list of various palm families be "scientific" enough or do they need a species name?

Also, I read something about the permits being good for 2 years. It looks like I can just list several countries I could hope to visit in that time?

Lastly, I can only guess as to port of arrival since on the March trip the flights will not be chosen by me and probably won't be booked early enough to wait to do the permits then. So should I just list several cities in Florida for example?

I appreciate any suggestions.

[Darold Petty]

I hold an APHIS 587 permit. I obtained it on-line mostly, the last step is that the applicant must appear in person with a photo ID at a designated office to verify their on-line identity.

The permit alllows import to USA without any documentation from the country of origin. However, there are several complications that are not apparent to the first time seed importer.

First, does the seed origin country allow export? Many Latin countries ban any export of plant material.

Secondly, even though all USA airports have agricultural inspection, only a select few are authorized to do an APHIS 587 inspection. These are stated on the information package received with the permit.

Third, some of these sites are not physically within the airport facility, so the importer has no way to transport the seeds to the inspection site. Miami is one of the few airports where this can occur. Miami also has a reputation for difficult inspectors, with arbitrary and capricious confiscations.

Here are two examples:

If I were to hand carry my seeds to my home airport of SFO, the USDA inspection facility is 3 miles from the airport and I cannot get them there. The seeds would be confiscated.

When I collected seeds in Argentina last year I attempted to ship them from Buenos Aires directly to the USDA facility near my home. (The permit package includes mailing labels addressed to the applicant's nearest facility.) The DHL office told me that I needed a phytosanitary permit for export. The FedEx office said that I needed to have the seeds fumigated. The two shippers gave me different addresses for the relevant Argentine office. I couldn't deal with this during a seven hour layover between flights on our way home, and I smuggled the seeds out of Argentina in my checked baggage.

When we arrived at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport I prompted declared the seeds, and presented the perfectly cleaned seeds in zip-lock baggies, along with my pemit.

The Ag inspector was completely unfamiliar with this permit and he spent about an hour consulting with fellow employees, and reading about the permit on-line. Finally he announced that Dalla/FtWorth was not authourized for this inspection. The seeds needed to go to Houston. He offered to send them there at government expense, which did occur. I was notified by the Houston office that my seeds had passed inspection. I purchased a UPS mailing label locally for the estimated package weight, and sent that label to Houston by fax transmission. Happy ending, I received my seeds. This was due entirely to one kind-hearted Ag person at the Dallas airport during a very slow time for his work schedule. Do Not assume that this would occur for you. It would have been less trouble for this person to confiscate and discard my seeds.

Summary:

The very best choice is to ship the seeds from the country of origin directly to the Ag inspection facility nearest your home using the pre-printed mailing labels included with the permit.

The second choice is to hand-carry your seeds with permit to an airport designated for APHIS inspecton, such as Miami.

[Cindy Adair]

Whew, that sounds like an adventure in itself. Thank you so much for all the information.

[edbrown_III]

Darolds right hit or miss I think I am batting about .500 between maiiing and carrying them on. Mailing takes alot of frustration out of it as you dont have to go through the second line (stuff to declare) by the way where was the photo taken of your Avatar --- do you have that aroid growing in PR?

[Cindy Adair]

I think the heliconia and torch ginger leaves are superimposed over the Metroxylon trunk. I was trying to photograph the M. salomonense on our farm. It was planted by the previous owner of our farm and is one of many favorites. It's on a pretty steep hill surrounded by other plants so I've never managed a proper photo. Maybe I could try a short video on my next visit.

We do like aroids though and have a dozen or so varieties inside in Virginia that we plan to add to the ones on the farm when we can.

[sarasota alex]

What I do that has made it easier for me is I contact the inspection station ahead of time and give them a "heads-up" on when I am planning to be going through customs. Then when I approach the customs agents (which usually happens outside of normal business hours) I am armed with specific instructions to them on what to do with my seeds and a name of the inspector I spoke with. This helps a lot! Still extra work for the customs officers but they are more receptive to it this way and it gives me more credibility, since most of them, like Darold said, have never seen a USDA seed permit before. Another suggestion - get a padded pre-addressed pre-paid envelope on a trip with you, that is large enough and priced enough to handle the seeds you expect to collect. Give that envelope to the authorities together with your seeds. This will ensure expedited shipment to you once the seeds clear inspection.

Next time I go I am thinking I am going to mail the seeds in, since my wife is getting tired of spending the extra time at the border. I will probably do the same thing - call first, and send my seeds with an envelope.

BTW the USDA inspection station in Orlando has the nicest people working there.

Also on the application don't list individual species or genera. You can just say "All eligible taxa". This includes (to my knowledge) all species not listed by CITES. And (!) give yourself enough time when applying. The application processing time is up to 30 days. That's exactly how long mine took.

Darold, thanks for first note! I actually had no idea that some Latin American countries ban plant material export. Do you know what they are?

[sarasota alex]

Oh and don't forget to clean the seeds completely.

I actually once had some seeds germinate in a plastic bag before the end of my trip. As painful as it was I threw them away. A germinated seed may no longer be viewed as a seed and I didn't want to get into trouble for trying to bring live plants in under a seed permit.

[Darold Petty]

Alex, the only one known to me is Ecuador. The others are anecdotal, and hearsay to me. I took my permit to Peru in 2008 but failed to obtain any seeds of interest.

During my visit to Ecuador in 1996 I had first resolved not to take any seeds. I changed my position after observing the slash&burn destruction of original forest for agriculture. I decided that it would be OK to take seeds from these disturbed areas, especially from sufficient elevation that the species were likely to grow for me at home in San Francisco. These include Canna jaegeriana and a splendid, large leafed Anthurium,... plants I have today, 17 years later.

Cindy, sorry to hijack your thread!

[edbrown_III]

Cindy

thanks for clearing that up on the photo --- I was really thinking that was the most fantastic aroid I had ever seen. The one time I went to DR --- I went from PR (where I was working ) it was planned as a week end trip but Hugo hit ( I think it was September 1988 -- we were stuck there for about a week or so until the airport at San Juan was repaired sijnce it was dragging out we collected all kinds of seeds and b ought some plants at the road side stnads . I brought back a big bundle of royal seeds Sabal domingensis . Even some of the Zamias --- the only thing they coniisccated at import station was the big tree fern --- most of seeds I donated to the IPS seedbank at the time (Inge was the seedbank lady ) but the Zamias and Sabal are still growing in my back yard, I always wanted to go back but never did. Very beautiful country and every one was so friendly.

Best wishes,

Ed

[Cindy Adair]

So much useful information. I really appreciate everyone's help! I went to apply today and the whole APHIS site is down... I'll try again later. I'm guessing this isn't tops on the list for government $ at this point.

[Trópico]

Cindy, you will need phytosanitary certificates as the officer in Atlanta told me.

I no longer think it's worth it, and from now on I'll let RPS handle all that for me.

I used to bring seeds from my travels as a living souvenir, just like you. I basically had enough seed from Thailand to quadruplicate my entire collection. I tried following the rules to the letter, and declared all my seeds in the little form we were given on the airplane. Heck, the form shouldn't read "I am (We are) bringing (a) fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects: Yes_ No_", rather it should read "If you're bringing (a) fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects, unless you have a phytosanitary certificate you are a moron and should have thrown them in the trashcan prior to boarding the plane". They WILL be confiscated, period. Moreover, confiscation wasn't enough, and the seeds were sent to a facility in Orlando, and about a month later an officer knocked at my door to inspect my "nursery operation" due to "that's a heck of a lot of seeds for a personal collection". I haven't even sold a plant on ebay, and do not plan to, I told the officer, and that I have a full time job. Then I was treated like a smuggler; the officer told me before he closed the investigation that they have my name in a database and if I tried to pull this again "you will hear from me". And that was the result of doing the right thing. What a way to treat a citizen!

So, no longer interested going through all that again. Good luck, and let me know how it goes! Like you told me on the way to the airport, I also had some "spillage" that is sprouting, and at least not all was lost!

[sarasota alex]

Frank, sorry to hear that this happened to you. Did you have a valid USDA permit at the time? I have my Permit in front of me and there is a section titled Special Instructions to Inspectors. The section begins with: "This Permit authorizes small lot of eligible seeds to be imported without a phytosanitary certificate under the Provision of 7 CFR 319.37-4(d)"

It's important to not exceed what they define as "small lot", which is no more than 50 taxa with no more than 50 seeds per taxon. If you do - you are in violation. Each taxon must be represented by a separate plastic bag. No more than 50 bags. Each bag must be marked with a species name. I just drop a small piece of paper into each bag with a scientific name on it. You are also considered in violation of your permit if you bring any species listed by CITES. Before a trip I go on a Kew Checklist and get a list of species in a country and then do a similar country search on the CITES website. Results are pretty surprising sometimes. Costa Rica has about 120-130 native palm taxa and none of them are restricted by CITES. However, Costa Rica has only 5 native Cycad taxa (all Zamia) and CITES restricts every one of them. Also if there are restrictions they may still not be restrictions for seeds specifically.

[Cindy Adair]

Frank,

I'm so sorry about your terrible experience! I certainly don't want to be tagged and given trouble moving my plants from Virginia to PR. I have all the legal inspection papers everytime and of course it's all U.S., but as we all know, we're at the mercy of interpretation and time constraints when traveling.

I gave away my gift seeds from Nong Nooch at the Biennial to someone with a permit before leaving Thailand. However, I still checked "Yes" on the "Do you have plants or plant products?" part on the official form needed to return to the U.S. I happened to be entering through Dulles/D.C. if that matters. Perhaps they are less plant oriented than FL or CA.

Anyway, I had 6 flasks of baby orchids purchased at the Nong Nooch gift shop along with papers from the gift shop swearing they were safe to transport,etc.

They were in my checked bag and I fully expected to be opening the bag and showing the papers and knew they might be taken anyway.

The person checking the paper I filled out on the plane said nothing and of course there is no room on the paper to explain what plants I had. My suitcase could have been nothing but plants in soil for all they knew.

I assumed the next stop would ask more but all they did was ask if I had an another flight and when I said "yes" they took my bag to a conveyor belt and sent me to the gate.

I saw no evidence the bag was ever opened when I arrived home to Norfolk airport in VA.

Well, the website for APHIS came back up yesterday and I plan to fax it today. It's all online except they need your signature so you need to ultimately fax or mail it. It does say you can put N/A if you don't know what port of arrival you'll be using.

Nothing so far about appearing in person.That doesn't mean I'll try to use it unless I find some seeds in DR that I really want.

Anybody have any good experiences importing especially for non-business use? I'd like to think sometimes all works smoothly.

[Trópico]

Atlanta is the worst! I should have known better. Alex, I used to have that small lots of seed import permit years ago, and I inquired the Atlanta person and he said he only recognizes a phyto certificate. So, I'm at a loss here. I remember Jeff was nearby and he said his stuff passed with flying colors.

You are so lucky Cindy! Same thing happened to me coming back from Colombia (!). I had plants, seeds, you name it. I was sent to the green line by the person checking the forms which means not even x-raying my luggage. My wife also bought two orchids from Thailand which were checked then confiscated, and they told us that the accompanying papers were worthless. If you entered thru Atlanta, they would have treated you as an underground marketer of exotic orchids, for sure.

This seems to be an issue worth discussing by IPS directors for future biennials. We were given (and probably will be given again) seeds/palms as presents by the host country. We had the opportunity to collect extra seeds of the species we came to visit and admire, where it was allowed. Then we are on our own trying to bring those home. Our guides for the pre-tour always used to say "we're stopping here, so bring your cameras, your seed collection bags, and have fun". I assumed it was their blessing to collect, but then in the gardens we were told not to, which I followed. I haven't seen a clear IPS policy addressing this issue or facilitating information, forms, or instructions to solicit the phytosanitary certificates in the host country. After all, we're a palm society and we collect palms!

[edbrown_III]

So much useful information. I really appreciate everyone's help! I went to apply today and the whole APHIS site is down... I'll try again later. I'm guessing this isn't tops on the list for government $ at this point.

one more thng there was a real nice botantic garden there-it was about 10 years old when I visited(1988) but had very large stuff -- the biggest attraction was a natural track of a Carribean Palm forest I think they were Cocothrinax argentia (one of the species nazis can correct me here) very tall maybe 30 ft. very pretty. Its in Santa Domingo a cab ride from airport. We spent a very nice afternoon there.

Best regards

Ed

[Cindy Adair]

Ed,

If I can get away from the business part I will try to get there! Thanks for the suggestion.

Frank,

It's different of course, but in the past I was able to attend the Redland Orchid Festival at the wonderful Fruit and Spice Park in

Miami. They had free (I think) Phyto certification and may have even had shipping services on site. They had plants from many countries and certainly attendees bought orchids to go with them to other countries. It sounds like something worth investigating before future Biennials!