MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST, WV (WOWK) — Ginseng lovers rejoice!

Starting Aug. 29, the Monongahela National Forest will sell ginseng permits for the 2022 harvest season. The permit is needed to dig ginseng on National Forest System lands.

Each permit allows up to 95 plants to be collected from one ranger district during the West Virginia ginseng season, Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.

For a legal harvest, ginseng plants must have three or more prongs and have produced fruit in 2022. When harvesting, plant the fruit on-site and keep the rest of the plant intact. Do not harvest over 24 plants per day and do not possess over 24 plants while on National Forest Land.

Ginseng permits can be purchased Monday through Friday at ranger stations in Parsons, Petersburg, Richwood, Bartow, Marlinton, or at the Supervisor’s Officer in Elkins. Permits are also available at the ranger station in White Sulphur Springs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Monongahela National Forest ginseng permits are $20 each. An additional permit is needed for each forest district. Harvesters may purchase more than one permit.

For more information about state laws on ginseng harvest, click here. More information on the Monogahela National Forest can be viewed here.