New Native Plant Rules

Beginning May 3, 2008, the Arizona Department of Agriculture will implement new rules for the use and harvest of native plants. Many of these amendments will make the process for obtaining a native plant harvest permit easier to understand by making application procedures consistent. Currently, different types of native plant permits are issued after varying numbers of days. The new rules will make it so that it will take the same number of days to process and issue any native plant permit. The rules will also be more understandable by adding definitions for terms that were previously ambiguous. The Department will also implement a new noncommercial native plant salvage permit to allow people to recover highly safeguarded native plants specifically for conservation.

In order to improve native plant conservation, the Department will also implement new fees for native plant tags. Due to expanding development and theft, there is a greater need to provide resources to continue to protect native plants. As of May 3, the Department will charge the following:

If you would like to view the specific rule language, you can click here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Native Plant Enforcement at (602) 364-0907 or jmcginnis@azda.gov.