[Rockhounds] FW: FOSSIL HUNTING HOBBY IN DANGERFw: PublicLandUsage Bills

[jaybates]

This rule making codifies that the Secretary of Interior has the 
discretion to allow casual collecting. It establishes in regulation, 
that the Secretary can disallow any collecting and you can be sure that 
is going to happen sometime in the future. Right now you do not need a 
permit for casual collecting and probably not under the proposed 
regulations. We certainly do not need that. Don't be fooled this 
proposed rule has all the earmarks of  ushering in future restrictions 
and prohibition of casual collecting. I have seen too many times to 
count where seemingly innocuous  Federal regulations are interpreted by 
the powers that be to restrict and prohibit uses by the general public.

Pmodreski at aol.com wrote:
> I had read the whole text of the proposed bill too,
>  
> "Here's clause 644:
> (2) CASUAL COLLECTING EXCEPTION- The Secretary may  allow casual collecting
> without a permit on Federal land controlled or  administered by the Bureau of
> Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and  the Forest Service, where
> such collection is consistent with the laws  governing the management of
> those Federal land and this subtitle."
>
> And I agree that this does keep the right for the public to "casually  
> collect" fossils; so to a large degree, I do think that the big concern that the  
> AFMS/ALA and others has been promoting, is a "straw man".  However, I would  
> have been happier if it didn't say "The Secretary MAY allow...", because that  
> could be interpreted to mean that no collecting is allowed unless the Secretary  
> of Interior himself specifically issues an order that collecting will be  
> permitted in some area.  I think we'd all agree that it should rather  simply 
> say, "Casual collecting with a permit... IS allowed, where such  collection is 
> consistent with the law... etc.
>  
>  
>  
> And as Alan said,
>
> "(Actually if I had my way, non-motorized casual hobby collecting  should
> be allowed in wilderness areas, just not park areas.  That goes  for most
> state and county parks too.)"
> As a citizen, I certainly agree with that; I don't see any reason that  
> wilderness areas need to be off limits to mineral or fossil collecting--just as  
> they are not off limits to hunting (they are not, are they?).
>  
> And I'll second this from Alan too,
>  
> "If someone wants to preserve, not just conserve, the lands in  their
> stewardship, methinks they should work for the Park Service, not  the
> USFS or BLM, etc...  Otherwise they are doing more harm than  good."
>
> and I also agree that
>  
> "It doesn't matter anyway. Every National Forest District Manager, and  
> some NF's have several districts, has the authority to prohibit ANY  
> activity they don't want to happen in their district. That includes  
> rockhounding and fossil collecting."
>  
> just ain't right, and I would certainly like to see personal  (noncommercial) 
> mineral and fossil collecting legitimatized by law for all  public lands that 
> are not in a protected Park or Monument status.   Now that is what I wish the 
> rockhound public lands organizations would keep  working on!
>  
> Pete
>
> **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, 
> and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com 
> today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp
> %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001)
>
>
> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
> multipart/alternative
>   text/plain (text body -- kept)
>   text/html
> ---
>