So I took the time to review the summary in the docket folder for the proposed rule making. So part I of the new rule still allows collecting of "common" invertebrate and plant fossils on BLM and Reclamation lands. The allowable amount per day is a weight restriction which is the same as the restriction on petrified wood that is in force on BLM lands today. It appears that these rules are driven by an act of congress. Unless the act of congress gets changed they have to implement some sort of rule. I might suggest that folks take the time to comment thoughtfully. I might suggest that the following points get incorporated somewhere in your comments assuming you agree. Unfortunately several of these should have been used when the law was enacted and perhaps it could have been made less stupid. These points are in no particular order to make an effective comment:
Collecting fossils is a family activity which has sparked many a young persons interest in science. The thrill of finding the remains of a long dead life form and getting it identified and incorporated as part of a personal collection provides science experiences that are both healthy and effective. I believe anyone should be able to collect invertebrate fossils. Perhaps to fulfill the protection mandate of the act they could require everyone to obtain a permit. The permit holder would be required to keep records of the location where the fossils were found. This is basic collecting practice. To do more extensive collecting would require a Tier 2 permit which could more or less be in accordance with the currently proposed permit qualifications. A bit more onerous could be a requirement to have finds reviewed by a qualified authority after collection rather than having to leave any fossils which cannot be immediately identified at the site. Those will be lost to science for ever. That way rare fossils could be identified and cataloged by some authority such as the local science teacher. If one is deemed to be of true scientific value and it is truly rare the Agency fossil czar could require it be surrendered to an "authorized repository". This has been the system for many years and many outstanding discoveries have been made by amateurs.
The second point is that the idea that not allowing collection is preserving paleontological resources is just plan wrong. The processes of freeze cracking, soil heaving and general land erosion destroy more fossils every year than are collected by all the amateur collectors in the US. To truly preserve fossil resources it would be best to have a rule that says that everybody in the USA has to go out to some fossil site and collect some fossils. Naturally they would be recording where they were found and having any unknown ones identified. According to a quick Google the Mississippi river carries some 500 million tons of sediment to the gulf each year. This figure is per the NASA earth observatory. Much of that sediment comes from prime fossil country in Montana, the Dakota's and the Midwest in general.
Finally if a site is truly unique and has enormous scientific value such as the Burgess shale it could be deemed off limits except to Tier 2 permit holders who have the advanced degrees and training to fully extract the scientific value. Of course to fulfill the protection mandate the agencies will be required to build a climate controlled structure around the outcrop in question to properly preserve it. (Just kidding on this last!)
Well those are my thoughts on this.
Regards Mike
