Lacey Act and wood

I put this here because it doesn't require a boat to be made entirely of wood, a small scrap on the dashboard would do it.

Has this act as it applies to boats been discussed. I have become aware of it where the trade in tropical woods for guitars is a factor. I am now very concerned about what it will mean for the construction of wooden boats I may want to import into the US for a vacation. I was planing on building a small Florida cruiser for the Keys, I will now build that boat out of corecell. It is another piece of legislation that has massive penalties. Already some news of unfair prosecutions. Unlimited liability etc... Sure there is a pathway one could take through the regs, it just doesn't necessarily protect you from some ***** who doesn't know wood.

Check out the stories at the end of this article:

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/magazine/guitar-lover’s-guide-cites-conservation-treaty

Now think of yourself at a non-cities import station, like Buffalo with a boat that could potentially be made of indonesian plywood, for which you bear a special responsibility to determine status due to the high proportion of illegal logging in that country.

Think Mahogany runabouts, or S&G kayaks.

Consider than US customs is doing spot checks within the territory of the US, not merely at ports of entry. Consider you are at risk even within the borders of US, when it comes to transporting these items. Consider you only have a defense on the question of the item being in existence prior to the act if you can document the origin of every piece of wood in the boat.

http://www.akingump.com/communicationcenter/newsalertdetail.aspx?pub=2445

 

Neither links can be found on my computer.

 

Is there some point to your ridiculously oriented, though attempted anyway, guilt trip type of post ThomD, because it smacks of, possably alcohol diluted, shear lunacy.

 

I am rather familiar with the Lacey Act as I import teak timbers into Canada, mill them and export teak decking to the U.S.. You can google U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and download form PPQ 505. Prior to the Lacey Act they were concerned with the 'country of origin' of the wood and now they want to know the 'country of harvest'. The act sounds ominous, but the implementation of the act has been realistic. You do not need to provide proof of where the wood in your canoe came from, if the seller did not tell you. An informed guess is acceptable and you can provide several countries of harvest if you are not positive . If you leave the 'country of harvest box blank on the form then you force the customs guys to decide for themselves where the wood originated.
regards...Ken

 

How does the Lacey Act treat the millions of pieces of pieces of furniture imported into the US ? Country of Furniture origin ? or country of timber origin ?

 

Each importer must file a ' Plant and Plant Product Import Declaration ' document specifying
the genus and species, country of harvest, quantity of plant material in the article etc.. and sign their name certifying 'under penalty of perjury'.
It has been this way for a few years.
...Ken

 

Sounds logical.