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Who needs to apply for a Paleontology Resource Use Permit?

 

How do I determine if I need to apply for a permit?

A paleontologist at work in the fieldIf you intend to survey, collect, disturb, or conduct research on any paleontological resources that are on BLM-administered lands you must have a valid paleontological resource use permit.

Paleontology

Qualifications

The applicant must have received formal education and professional instruction in a field of paleontology equivalent to a Graduate Degree; and

  • must demonstrate past experience in collecting, analyzing, and reporting paleontological data, similar to the type and scope of work proposed in the application.
  • must demonstrate past experience in planning, equipping, staffing, organizing, and supervising crews performing work that is proposed in the application.
  • must demonstrate experience in carrying out paleontological projects to completion as evidenced by theses, research reports, scientific papers and similar documents.
  • must provide a valid and current repository agreement with a Federally approved museum repository.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a paleontological resource use permit, the applicant must not:

  • engage in the business of buying, selling, or trading paleontological resources of a similar type that would be authorized by the permit.
  • have been convicted of a civil or criminal charge, or have charges pending, relevant to work that would be authorized by the permit.

Do I need a permit for researching and/or collecting invertebrate or plant fossils?

Casual collecting is allowed under BLM policy. The Paleontology Resource Protection Act, which was just recently passed by Congress, addresses the issue of casual collecting.

Casual collecting in Section 6301(1) of PRPA means:

“… the collecting of a reasonable amount of common invertebrate and plant paleontological resources for non-commercial personal use, either by surface collection or the use of non-powered hand tools resulting in only negligible disturbance to the Earth's surface and other resources.”

Research, however, is different than casual collecting. If you plan to do research on invertebrate and/or plant fossils you may need a permit. Please contact the Regional Paleontologist for more information.

Back to the Paleontology Permit Main Page

   
Last updated: 08-13-2009