NEWS FROM WHITE SAGE TERRITORY

Photo Credit: Lisa Fimiani

  • The only place in the world where White Sage / Salvia apiana is found growing in the wild is in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Central/Southern California, on down to Northern Baja California.

  • Burning and smudging with White Sage wands has become a global “craze”.

  • Plant numbers in the wild are dwindling due to the poaching of it out of the wild to meet this demand.

  • Urban development and land-use associated with cities, roads, buildings and infrastructure is leading to habitat loss.

  • With very few commercial growers, the majority of White Sage products on the market, such as smudge wands, have been poached out of the wild, yet promoted as sustainable.

  • Poachers do not follow sustainable or traditional gathering practices.

  • Poachers often rip the whole plant out by the roots, leaving entire hillsides bare.

The Ecological Impact: White Sage is an important pollinator plant. It is a food source for bees, butterflies, birds, deer, rabbit and other wildlife.

 The Cultural Impact: The loss of White Sage affects Native people of the Californias who have tended specific stands of White Sage as food, medicine, and more for generations.

 Call to action: We believe that White Sage is at risk of becoming extinct. We recognize that the commodification of this plant for the purpose of smudging with White Sage is adding to the problem and sends the wrong message. Join a growing movement to NOT participate in the commodification of White Sage/Salvia apiana products, such as smudge wands.

·       Boycott the sale of White Sage/Salvia apiana smudge wands

·       If you are a storekeeper, consider displaying materials that help educate

·       Work with existing organizations to help build awareness

·       Source White Sage/Salvia apiana from someone who is actually growing it, or knows someone who is actually (really) growing it. Do the research and make sure. Reciprocate through a kind act, trade, or pay it forward

·       Grow it from seed

·       Grow it in a community garden

·       Grow it in parkways

·       Grow it in your garden (especially if you live in the zone where it grows in the wild anyway). Purchase a plant from a reputable nursery or grower.

·       Grow and incorporate it into urban landscape designs where it can thrive

·       Initiate restoration projects in wild spaces

·       Burning and smudging with a single dry leaf will support self-care practices

·       How badly do you really need that White Sage smudge wand? If you don’t know how it was gathered in the first place, how good is the medicine anyway?

·       Research your own ancestral use of other plants that may be dried and bundled as a smudge wand

·       Avoid creating posts on social media showing the burning of white sage smudge wands. It seems harmless, but it can appear to disregard sustainability, ethical, ecological, and cultural awareness of this plant relative.