[Rockhounds] PRPA now public law

[Kris Rowe]

Wes, as one of the "handicapped" persons who've been shut off from access to
legislatively appointed "wilderness" areas, I'm personally resentful over
the apparently arbitrary closing of areas that have been developed off & on
for over 100 years. I looked at this bill, found myself baffled and
dismayed, and emailed my Rep & Senators.
No reply other than the form kiss-off was given, save that the Bill passed.
I thank those who've been able to pry their way into the halls of power,
where the true constituency of each representative is measured in campaign
contributions, for their diligent work.

The question of "why?" make regulations that cannot be practically enforced
due to budgetary constraints becomes tragically apparent when viewing the
demonization culture that has overtaken Washington, spanning party
boundaries and making the denial culture that prevailed before seem
relatively inviting.

The regulations exist so examples can be cherry picked (remember the saga of
"Sue?") and displayed to attempt to cow those who've not paid (and paid and
...) either enough money or enough lip service to curry Congressional or
bureaucratic favor.

To be perfectly clear, I do not believe in group demonization. However,
since the days in the '80s when I was "observed" by state officials with *
binoculars* from across the street in downtown San Francisco while
performing my job of smog testing, I learned that certain people are
automatically suspect and considered guilty before trial or even
investigation. My personal character was never even considered, I was a *
mechanic,* and therefore guilty by association with any less than honest
mechanic. (Email me for the story of how I ended their "observation.")

I am still hoping to someday discover that I have simply not asked the
proper search words to discover some uniform, non-arbitrary set of
regulations that will tell me that my status as a commercial collector on
Public Lands is governed by something other than a local bureaucrats
personal opinion of what I should be "allowed." If you have access to a web
page or regulation book that says how I can obtain legal license to collect
a non-locate able resource without being subject to the bureaucratic "may"
that has been the rule, as far as I can ascertain, please post it.

Personally, I've tried ( and gave up years ago) to find someone who cares at
the local Forest Service District level about "allowing" me to look for an
old garnet mine in Sequoia Park, and all I got was a "huh?" I want to do
things the legal way, but, what IS the legal way? I don't want to make a
fortune and pay big taxes, I just want to have my quiet small business that
allows me to pick up eroding rocks off of the surface or from a stream or
from an old mine dump in the middle of the forest that no one's seen or
cared about in 80 years and send them to collectors who'll enjoy them, and
do it *legally*.

Note: *I want to do this LEGALLY, if possible. Is it?*

I don't want to be an outlaw, or be reduced to begging at the hand of
someone I pay, or to talk down hardworking public servants, some of whom I
deeply respect. I simply want to a straight, simple answer.

If an area needs to be closed due to a legitimate reason, please present a
valid real life example.

Case in point, does anyone actually know an *individual* who has contracted
asbestosis from exposure in the Clear Creek Management Area? When I see
"could" in EPA statements, I see someone playing an anti-litigation
maneuver, which is quite understandable in today's lawyer driven society.
But why not simply tell me that, instead of pretending to care about my
health? Why not post a BLM Ranger at the entrance to the Area, with a
register that limits me to a less than dangerous exposure allowance? (Wow,
I'd apply for that job!) Why not a "hold harmless" declaration, recognizing
my Constitutionally expected personal responsibility?

Why make me wonder what they're really up to?

I am serious, dear friends. I want to believe that all of those who choose
Public Service are noble and outstanding individuals. I know many who are,
and have known some who weren't. I don't want to be coddled, I simply want
to have a *bottom line*. If I must seek out private land owners who will
trust my word & bond, so be it. If I must buy a license and file reports, so
be it. But please don't tell me that I must spend countless hours (and
millions of dollars) and kiss countless tushes to be told that no one wants
to take responsibility for answering my questions.

That answer leads me to the obvious question: "If I'm paying you, why won't
you give me a *simple answer?*"

Thank you. I hope that you will help, if you can.

Kris Rowe

PS: As far as petrified wood goes, I agree with poundage restrictions. I
personally restrict my in situ pet wood collecting to private lands, and
collect alluvial wood only from private gravel pits. It's worth the efforts
involved.

BTW, some AFMS officials seem to take some exception to these newly passed
laws. Here's where to find what they say: ALAA and Land Access
Issues<http://www.amfed.org/sfms/S3213.html>



On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 10:22 PM, Wes Lingerfelt <Rocks4u at prodigy.net>wrote:

> You seem to miss the point that the S-22 Bill included about 160 Bills
> including this one. My point is that the other 159 made most of the desert
> into wilderness areas that even Senator Feinstein said we could visit so
> long as we have a horse or mule to carry the necessities of life with us.
> All motorized access will be eliminated no matter if you are handicapped or
> not.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim" <nospam at orerockon.com>
> To: "'Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors'"
> <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 10:14 PM
> Subject: RE: [Rockhounds] PRPA now public law
>
>
>
>  Please point us to something in the bill that restricts access to
>> rockhounding materials or fossils. I see no such language.
>>
>>
>> Tim Fisher
>> Ore-ROCK-On!
>> Email address at http://OreRockOn.com
>>
>>
>>


--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---