Fossils in the News

[DWhatley]

Octobot picked up an interesting issue about illegal Canadian transport of fossils that might be missed by our fossil enthusiasts so I am posting a link back to the post here

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthr...sil-export-means-fines-for-Calgary-man-CBC.ca

 

[Architeuthoceras]

Thanks D, I saw that this morning but didn't reply, kinda hoping it would slip on by. There are many fossils out there for sale that were found on public land here in the US, it is against the law to sale or trade them. Though enforcement is not a high priority now, I expect it will change in the near future, even for the sale or trade of invertebrate fossils. They have been watching the vertebrate fossil trade fairly closely in recent years.

 

[DWhatley]

So you can own them for your own collection or give them to someone but not sell or trade? I had no idea there were rules like that about public land. If you find fossils on private property, I assume the rules do not apply but the property needs to be your own or with the permission of the owner, is there a limitation to how you can use them? How would you prove the source or is quantity an unspoken part of the deal?

 

[Architeuthoceras]

On Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and most other public lands:

Except where posted or on developed recreation sites, the casual collector may collect reasonable amounts of rocks, minerals, gemstones, invertebrate and plant fossils if collection is for personal, non-commercial purposes. Surface disturbance must be negligible. Collection of large quantities or for commercial purposes requires a permit from the BLM. (Commercial collecting of fossils is not allowed). Use of explosives and/or power equipment is forbidden. You may collect in wilderness and wilderness study areas so long as there is no surface disturbance.

Some States lease some land for commercial collecting.

Collecting is not allowed in National Parks or Monuments

Collecting on private land is allowed with permission of the land owner, and I guess it is up to the them whether to charge to dig or allow sales.

There was a famous dinosaur found with much dispute over provenance.

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 and it's Paleontological Resources Preservation Act may change all this. We'll see what happens when it gets finalized.

I don't know how it is in Canada, but it seems much the same.

 

[DWhatley]

Man, that sucks, the land owner got 7.6 mil, plus the $5,000 that the paleontologists paid and the paleontologists appear to have gotten nothing out of it but a costly law suit.