The harvest of native plants for medicinal purposes should be done ethically, according to Deb Swanson, owner of Dancing Willow Herbs. Swanson offers the following guidelines for individuals interested in wild herbcrafting:

• Explore a 1-mile radius around the plant you want to harvest to make sure the species is viable in that area

• Take no more than 5 percent of the plant

• Try to leave the tap root in the ground

• Look for signs of other collection and choose plants that have not already been touched

• Broadcast seeds to promote regrowth of the plants

• Leave smaller plants in place to develop for future years

• Tread especially lightly during drought years

“There’s a big price to be paid,” Swanson said. “We want to try to have as few impacts as possible.”

– Will Sands