Finding fossils

[corndog-44]

What if I find a fossil? Who does it belong to? Can I take it with me?

I heard that fossils are widely considered as natural and scientific treasures that have a market value, but due to the reasons that I just mentioned, property and selling rights are usually strictly limited. You may indeed carry fossils away, but unless you are a scientist who knows what to do with them and doing some research, you will probably cause more harm than good. Fossils are not to be treated as souvenirs.

On the other hands, depending on where you find them, different regulations may apply and you may be breaking the law if you pretend to collect fossils there. You should check the applicable norms.

Some fossils are very valuable, so the state, the land owner and indeed you may claim rights over at least a portion of the total value of the specimen found.

[Rick]

Here you go:

http://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/fossil-collecting-regulations.htm

[trax]

Hey surfer boy, stop posting links that I don't have time to check out...yeesh, they actually expect me to do some work around here every so often.

I have a rule about finding fossils, I keep them. Glad I could settle that

[corndog-44]

Rick that's the law of Oregon but is it the law of the land (USA)? Or does each state have it's own laws concerning collecting fossils?

[trax]

OK, sit down, I'll spell this out for you. Fossil=been sitting there being ignored for thousands of years, person picking up fossil=finder's keepers! hellooo, oldest law known to mankind!

Don't want the authorities taking your fossils away? Don't tell them about them. I see no particular moral conundrum here...Rick run for your dictionary and look up conundrum before you twist my words around.

No dictionary? now that's a conundrum.