In a sense then, committing a crime is a public offense. Home » Minerals » Legal Aspects of Rock Collecting. In a civil context, whether an activity is “legal” means that someone cannot be sued by another person, the liability for which is typically a judgment for monetary damages or injunctive relief, for engaging in that activity. Much more valuable than a common pebble - if you are caught removing this without permission from almost any property that you do not own, and in some cases even a property that you do own, it could result in criminal or civil problems. Coincidences do happen. From: "Patricia Kane-Vanni" References: . The legalities of rock, mineral, and fossil collecting are multi-faceted and fact-specific. Depending on a host of factors including the exact type, weight, and location of the specimens taken, someone may have subjected himself or herself to criminal and civil legal actions. Image copyright iStockphoto / emholk. Collecting fossils is prohibited or a collecting permit is necessary to collect fossils on state and federal lands and in parks. Re: Laws on fossil collecting. One man from Michigan, who was arrested for taking stones placed in a road median for his garden and ended up paying in excess of $1,000.00 in fines and fees, provides one such example. But with fossils locked away in private collections, this is often not possible, leaving us paleontologists with more questions than answers. Planning. These questions evoke fairly common and seemingly innocuous scenarios. This information ranges from the exact geological layer it was found in, whether it was found facing up or down, and which other fossils were found, to who found it and when. Re: Laws on fossil collecting. Learn more about paleontology and collecting on U.S. Forest Service lands. As you hike with your family in a national park on vacation, your children happen upon several small pieces of petrified wood. Private ownership of fossils is often viewed as controversial, and many countries have laws in place that limit the collecting of specimens by private individuals. Fossils Fossil Hunting Laws. But to others, private collecting isn’t all bad, and putting more restrictions on fossil collecting would do science little good. Simply put, specimen collectors may find themselves in situations where they could engage in illegal conduct seemingly without fear of discovery or negative repercussions. You need a free permit from the visitor center, you may not use … To some, the answer is no. Fossils can be collected in Alberta on Crown Land and on private land with the permission of the landowner. The sites were often on private property and caused problems for some landowners. Indeed, many highly-sought specimens are available only in locales considered exotic or far-flung. What I do know is that these new laws (USFS) and the proposed Rule (Interior) are almost impossible to enforce—I am not advocating breaking the law but simply stating my strong opinion that collecting of invertebrate fossils on federal lands will go underground. Surface collecting is allowed but not digging or excavation. Part 2: Determining Rock, Mineral, or Fossil Ownership and Possession, Part 3: Additional Conditions, Limitations, and Prohibitions on Rock Collecting, BLM officer detains family 5 hours for picking up rocks, US tourist faces jail in Turkey for collecting beach 'stones', Canadian teen jailed for taking rock from Parthenon, Timothy J. Witt is an attorney with the firm of. These regulations were favorable to the commercial paleontological community, they opposed it because of probable harm to the amateur and scientific paleo collecting. Excellent fossil occurrences are common in limestone quarries such as the Martin-Marietta Quarry in Berkeley County near Cross, S.C. 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