[meteorite-list] BLM Law vs Type Sample

From: Mark Bowling <minador_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2012 00:36:59 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <1349249819.74632.YahooMailNeo_at_web160403.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>

I hope?you and Norm are right.? The BLM should be providing a FAQ page at some point that can put some of the questions to rest.
?
For the record, I'll comply with the?rules.? I've never sold or traded a meteorite I've found so far, so I'll never need a permit.? These changed don't?impact my past practices except now I can only collect 4% of the yearly limit I could before (not that I have been that lucky, but we know people who have, some who aren't considered dealers).
?
My home?is?west?of the Pecos, in a state that's about 88% publicly owned.? Quite a few times?I've been wrongly hassled by federal agents.? They knew they were?wrong and still?intimidated me.? But I have found that if you show some knowledge of the law?and drop a name (like the district ranger) they will move on (even though they had claimed you're breaking the law and they have to dead to rights(!?).? It's clear intimidation.? How many others, doing no harm and wanting to be lawful, give in and go home?? Now that's not?most of the time.? Agents are often very nice and will eagerly share their time and?discuss their area of expertise if you show interest.? But there are a significant percentage of crusaders out there too.
?
Sure, the BLM will not staff up, or peak in your windows or lurk on this forum or check your auctions, but as budgets get tighter, they will look for revenue.? As visitor density continues to increase at a fast pace, use permits will be seen as a good source revenue.? As a minority, meteorite hunters will be squeezed, especially if a significant number of us see this as harmless or as not affecting them.? If we fragment on this, and?casual collection is eventually restricted, we will have lost momentum.? And new limits?will be seen as normal and nothing new.? We will be vilified as grave robbers, and the majority of well-meaning citizens, who want to protect our resources, will see us as such.
?
Government regulations never shrink but we can try to direct their focus.? If we act now and try to open a dialogue about?some minor changes, we could end up with a good system, which would help legitimize our activities and enhance meteorite recovery.
?
I've known people fined by BLM & USFS for doing things that were pretty tame and weren't commercial activity.? And though they weren't fined to the breaking point,?there are examples of Westerners financially ruined while proving they were in the right.??So I'd rather not be faced with a situation like this and let my pack in/pack out, tread-lightly actions speak for me as they have over the last 30 years.? It's funny, I've?stumbled upon scores of places covered over by tons of trash and human excrement and?no agency does anything to clean up?these?easy to find public health hazards.? Problems?which impact more land?surface than our group will cover in a lifetime.
?
If we do nothing, someone we know will be the first unlucky example.? Is Battle Mountain on BLM land?? Will that be the first place to see these rules played out?
?
Clear skies,
Mark

________________________________
From: Doug Ross <doug at dougross.net>
To: Meteorite List List <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: nlehrman at nvbell.net; Martin Altmann <altmann at meteorite-martin.de>
Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 8:46 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] BLM Law vs Type Sample

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.)


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Received on Wed 03 Oct 2012 03:36:59 AM PDT