[meteorite-list] BLM Law vs Type Sample

From: Doug Ross <doug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 20:46:10 -0700
Message-ID: <C5B26D70-AD25-49D3-B80E-D6E8AD0B1A75_at_dougross.net>

Very amusing (and valid) points, Martin! Nobody likes to be subjected to new rules and restrictions, and it's easy to speculate about the potential pitfalls of the new BLM rules, but I tend to agree with Norm. If the Feds were really viewing meteorite hunters as public enemy number one, they could have already been citing us for any of these offenses (and more) before the new guidelines were even issued. I seriously doubt that the BLM secret police are going to be out in force, strip searching rock hounders on public land and conducting nickel tests on all rocks found in their possession. Let's not get too carried away here, folks. My guess is that this will all soon die down, the BLM will largely forget about us, and things will pretty much go back to the way they were. Of course, I could be wrong....

It seems to me the people most likely to suffer significant scrutiny and potentially serious consequences are the professional hunters, especially when hunting highly publicized witnessed falls. I don't know what the solution is for that, honestly. Glad I'm just an amateur hunter! Okay, I've donned my asbestos suit, so flame away! ;-)

-Doug Ross


> So in any case, when you go on BLM land, in first instance you will be
> always collecting rocks there and not meteorites,
> Therefore these rules do not apply.
>
> Or do BLM or FED officers in the field exist, who could tell a chondrite
> apart from a terrestrial rock or who could identify an achondrite by visual
> inspection?
>
> Could be a field of job creation: Federal Meteorite Ranger!
>
>
> ????
>
> (Ehm... the first US lunar will have a weight of 76 kgs. Do I have to smash
> the stone in pieces, to harvest year by year the allowed weight limit?
> Also it's said, that the permit fees could be calculated as a percentage of
> a fair market value - WHEN will I be charged? Do I have a chance to
> organize a loan, or do I have to commit suicide, because I simply won't have
> the percentage of the value of the 76kgs US-lunar at hand?
> Can I invite laymen to go hunting with me, who don't need a permit, as they
> aren't commercial dealers? They could transfer ownership of the finds to me
> in giving the finds as a gift to me, which would be no bartering.)
Received on Tue 02 Oct 2012 11:46:10 PM PDT