AAPS Legislative Newsletter

I recently received a newsletter from the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences. It made me aware of a new fossil bill that sounds...at least a little concering, to say the least.

So here I've taken the libery of posting the information from the email newsletter. Full credit goes to AAPS for it. Hopefully I didn't get around to it too late....


February 9, 2007

Dear AAPS Members;

I wanted to update you on the status of the new fossil bill, HR 554. As promised, the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is fast tracking this bill as she has done with many others since taking office.

I implore each of you to contact your representatives today, do not wait, tomorrow will be to late. A copy of my letter to the new speaker is posted below.

Mike Triebold, President AAPS

Open Letter to the Speaker of the House

Dear Madam Speaker:

The AAPS (Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences) board of directors has reviewed House Bill HR 554, "Paleontological Resources Preservation Act", and issues the following remarks:

The AAPS cannot support this Bill for the following reasons;

It is against scientific principles to keep scientific data secret. This should be available to all scientists and the general public who own public lands. Except in only the most special circumstance locality data should not be withheld.

There is no logical scientific or empirical way to assign a dollar amount to scientific value. Only the term fair market value should be used.

Penalties for misidentification of fossils will place every museum in jeopardy. There is not one museum that is free from labeling errors on specimens on exhibit or in collections.

Imprisonment and vehicle forfeiture should be reserved for only the most heinous violations. Our government does not need to put scientists in jail and confiscate University vans.

There are no provisions for the sale of fossils from commercial quarries or surface collecting. These are an important and integral part of the world of paleontology, and a mechanism to provide for the sale of fossils from public lands, like other resources, should have been devised as part of this Bill.

Professional collectors, intimately familiar with the latest techniques for safe retrieval and documentation can and should be a vital ally in the fight to preserve our fossil resources. Myriad opportunities exist for contract and collaborative exploration, excavation, preparation, molding, casting, mounting and conservation.

It is also important to note that our arguments against this legislation are supported by the National Academy of Sciences 1986 report titled "Paleontological Collecting".

As the only organization of professional fossil collectors in the US, we find it disturbing that the issues we might have helped deal with in the creation of this legislation, and those which unfortunately require that we withhold our support, could have been successfully addressed had we been consulted.

We applaud the Bill's recognition that the Secretary of the Interior has the responsibility to manage and protect paleontological resources on public lands. After so many years of changing policy, this Bill would finally clarify regulation of fossil collecting, and increase public awareness. We are in complete support of the casual collecting exemption. Amateurs are the foot soldiers of paleontology and their activities are to be encouraged. We applaud the recognition that all qualified individuals will be eligible to obtain a permit. In past bills, commercial and amateur collectors were not allowed to obtain permits.

We believe that it is suitable that important fossils collected under permit should be placed in an approved repository that is not necessarily a federal institution; that areas under scientific investigation be closed to the public when necessary; and that the Bill recognizes the importance of commercial activities protected by mining laws.

Perhaps with a little more input and a few amendments, this Bill could really benefit the science of paleontology. We would welcome an opportunity to participate in the creation of viable legislation that would preserve the resource and bring all of paleontology together.
Michael Triebold, President, Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences