ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Broke and down on his luck, Billy Joe Hurley turned to the only way he knew how to make a living: poaching ginseng.But after his latest in a long string of arrests, federal prosecutors had enough.They told a U.S. magistrate Thursday that poaching by Hurley and others in the national forests in western North Carolina has dramatically reduced the numbers of wild ginseng — a humble looking plant whose roots can fetch more than $900 a pound.Prosecutor David Thorne said they needed to send a message: Illegal ginseng harvesting won’t be tolerated.Hurley, 46, of Bryson City, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5½ months in jail — the fifth time in a decade that Hurley has been sentenced for illegal possession or harvesting of ginseng. He could have received up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.But Magistrate Dennis Howell said he didn’t fine Hurley because he knew he couldn’t pay it.Hurley’s legal troubles illustrate a larger problem: As prices continue to skyrocket, more people are traipsing through national forests, state parks and even private property to hunt ginseng, leaving the plant’s survival in doubt.“We only catch a small fraction of what’s going on here,” said Wes Mullins, a National Park Service ranger who arrested Hurley on June 28. “Most of them are woodsmen and they know the mountains better than we do.”He said poachers often camp out deep in the hardwood forest, digging up the slow-growing plant for its two- and three-prong roots.