Amends GS 106-202.19(a) to forbid the harvesting of wild ginseng outside of a harvesting season or without a harvesting permit issued by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Limits the permit fee to $25. Allows the North Carolina Plant Conservation Board to enter into memoranda of understanding with law enforcement agencies, including special peace officers of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Department of Environmental Quality, to provide for enforcement of new subdivision (5a) on both public and private lands.

Requires the North Carolina Plant Conservation Board (Board) to issues rules to implement the act, including: (1) a requirement that the ginseng collection permit include physical identifying information on the permitee or equivalent information to enable law enforcement to determine if the permit is being used by persons other than the permitee and (2) a program to allow ginseng dealers permitted under GS 106-202.19(6) to sell ginseng harvest permits and receive a portion of the fee authorized by this act for each permit sold. Requires the Board to propose rules to implement the act no later than April 1, 2018.