Georgia has a new law governing the sale of saw palmetto berries.
The fruit from the spiky South Georgia plants is a hot commodity, and illegal harvesting has become enough of a problem that the state Legislature passed a bill this year that requires anyone selling saw palmetto berries to have a certificate showing they had permission to harvest them.
Saw palmetto berry extract is used in alternative medicine. It used to be that people would harvest the berries here and there to get a little extra income, said Pamela Garrison, a senior federal wildlife officer at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
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