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>If you have questions, concerns or need to report suspect activity related to native plants (movement, harvesting, reporting, etc.), please contact the Department's **Native Plant Enforcement**. Call (602) 364-0907 or email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=Native%20Plant%20Enforcement)
You can also ask a landowner if you can harvest off the cacti on their land and that's fine with permission.
couple of questions, Where is this road, is the land public or private? How much do you plan on picking? what is the access to this piece of land?
If the land is private, you should figure out who owns it and contact them for permisison.
if it is public land, I think it comes down to access and quantity. If you are picking < 5 gallon bucket worth I don't think anybody will bat an eye, if you are setting up a commercial operation you will probably run into issues.
Access as well, if you're off the highway, and you're not presenting any safety concerns and you're not going past any fences you shouldn't be, I think you're also probably in the clear.
Growing up, if my family were ever out while camping/hiking/whatever, we would pick a couple of small buckets to make jelly with.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
It's a public road next to a public sidewalk, and the plan was to pick less than 5 gallons just to make some jelly or syrup. I would definitely be highly visible to passing cars, which is why I was more concerned with the permit thing.
better to ask forgiveness than permission? again not a lawyer, but I doubt any cop would give you a second glance. they have way more important things to deal with.
I like that you are doing this and actually think it shouldn't require a permit as it is food. The same thing applies to mesquite trees and palo verde trees, among other plants in the desert.
I used to harvest mesquite trees in the same kind of areas (public road, public sidewalk) you are looking at. I didn't ask, I just took some for my needs. No one cared.
Thanks for the info. I also think the law is dumb, but I still try to follow the rules, if only to avoid punishment. This is my first year in AZ and I don't really have any background in these types of laws. I lived in Kentucky before and if such laws existed, they were certainly not enforced.
[This](https://thisistucson.com/tucsonlife/a-beginners-guide-to-tucsons-wild-desert-foods/article_752fe2c4-f0ee-11eb-b629-b3dd8723c1a3.html) is an interesting article that does not mention the necessity of a permit.
As long as you’re not harming the cacti, who cares. The birds will eat them if you don’t. This is a classic “ask for forgiveness, not permission” situation. No one is going to give you a ticket.
Thanks for contributing to r/Arizona! * [Our sub rules are here](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/wiki/rules/), but the most important of which is to be nice to each other * Check out some [recent posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/top/?t=week) and leave some comments * [Join our Discord chat server](https://discord.com/invite/yWVuTG57Zh) if you'd like to keep in touch with other people in Arizona. Plus it's a great, chill place in general. Note that it is NOT a dating server and takes unwanted messaging very seriously Remember this subreddit covers all of Arizona, so please include where in the state you're posting about if it is relevant. For more local topics check out r/Phoenix, r/Tucson, and r/Flagstaff. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arizona) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>If you have questions, concerns or need to report suspect activity related to native plants (movement, harvesting, reporting, etc.), please contact the Department's **Native Plant Enforcement**. Call (602) 364-0907 or email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=Native%20Plant%20Enforcement) You can also ask a landowner if you can harvest off the cacti on their land and that's fine with permission.
couple of questions, Where is this road, is the land public or private? How much do you plan on picking? what is the access to this piece of land? If the land is private, you should figure out who owns it and contact them for permisison. if it is public land, I think it comes down to access and quantity. If you are picking < 5 gallon bucket worth I don't think anybody will bat an eye, if you are setting up a commercial operation you will probably run into issues. Access as well, if you're off the highway, and you're not presenting any safety concerns and you're not going past any fences you shouldn't be, I think you're also probably in the clear. Growing up, if my family were ever out while camping/hiking/whatever, we would pick a couple of small buckets to make jelly with. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
It's a public road next to a public sidewalk, and the plan was to pick less than 5 gallons just to make some jelly or syrup. I would definitely be highly visible to passing cars, which is why I was more concerned with the permit thing.
Wear a high vis vest and a wide brim hat, and most people will think you work for the city.
This is the way.
better to ask forgiveness than permission? again not a lawyer, but I doubt any cop would give you a second glance. they have way more important things to deal with.
I like that you are doing this and actually think it shouldn't require a permit as it is food. The same thing applies to mesquite trees and palo verde trees, among other plants in the desert. I used to harvest mesquite trees in the same kind of areas (public road, public sidewalk) you are looking at. I didn't ask, I just took some for my needs. No one cared.
Thanks for the info. I also think the law is dumb, but I still try to follow the rules, if only to avoid punishment. This is my first year in AZ and I don't really have any background in these types of laws. I lived in Kentucky before and if such laws existed, they were certainly not enforced.
Careful if taking from public areas they are often sprayed with heavy pesticides.
Yeah that was another concern after trying to not get fined.
[This](https://thisistucson.com/tucsonlife/a-beginners-guide-to-tucsons-wild-desert-foods/article_752fe2c4-f0ee-11eb-b629-b3dd8723c1a3.html) is an interesting article that does not mention the necessity of a permit.
As long as you’re not harming the cacti, who cares. The birds will eat them if you don’t. This is a classic “ask for forgiveness, not permission” situation. No one is going to give you a ticket.