Dennis, the Lacey Act itself does not list specific species, etc. It is deliberately vague. A plant, in the context of the Act, is anything that grows out of the ground. It is also the basic law for controlling trade in all endangered, etc., species from snail darters to elephants and birds. It provides the basic authority for other laws and regulations that in turn provide authority for seizing woods that are not properly documented, starting with the country of origin. The US Customs service gets in on the act, as well as Commerce, Fish and Wildlife, and DOJ. It does not address destruction of rain forests. It is only concerned with illegal harvesting, which is a decision that is made by the country of origin. Because of international treaties, we ( and other countries who signed up)are then obligated to stop importation of whatever species are designated by the country of origin. Not all countries signed up to those treaties, however.
The fundamental intent of the Lacey Act and subsequent amendments is to stop the trade in so called exotic woods that have not been "sustainably" grown or farmed for that purpose. It assumes that, if you have a piece of ebony for example, you are guilty until proven innocent, and your ebony will be confiscated at the very least. Some deal, huh.
All that said, many source countries use this as a way of generating income. Similar to state owned oil and mining operations. That is exactly what Madagassar did. All of their timber is now the property of the State, and the State will sell it off on the international market and keep the revenue from it. They say that it will be used for the benefit of their citizens, but I rather doubt that, given that it is a dictatorship as a result of a 2009 coup.
PS: Here's a plain English description of how the Lacey Act is implemented and functions.
http://www.illegal-logging.info/uploads ... tJan10.pdf
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