CompuServe Messages

Don, Alberta DOES have draconian fossil collecting laws. But as with most laws, there is a letter of the law and a spirit of the law, and in this case, as long as the spirit is followed, the letter is rarely enforced. This is basically how it works at present: LETTER OF THE LAW 1) No collecting in areas where specifically prohibited (provincial & national parks, etc.) 2) Loose specimens can be collected where not specifically prohibited. 3) No fossils (vert. or invert.) can be excavated from in-situ rocks (without academic permit). 4) No fossils collected in Alberta may be sold commercially (except certain types on a control list, which require government permit–ammonites, dinosaur bone, petrified wood, a few others). 5) No fossils collected in Alberta may be removed from the province (exceptions as above). 6) The government retains ownership of all fossils found in Alberta after 1978 (exceptions as above). SPIRIT OF THE LAW 1) Don't collect in the parks. 2) Go ahead and collect loose stuff, but get permission on private land. If you find something really wild, please notify a museum or university. It might be important. 3) If you find a T. rex skull, don't be an idiot and try to excavate it yourself. Also, don't go renting a back-hoe and start digging up fossils by the ton. 4) Don't set up a booth at the flea-market and start selling the fossils you excavated with your back-hoe. 5) If you come across some rare or otherwise valuable specimens, don't spirit them away to some rich collector in Outer Slobbovia. 6) Yes, the government OWNS your fossil collection, but private collectors are allowed to maintain guardianship. As long as you don't try to sell it or ship it out of the country, the government couldn't care less–no fossil cops are going to lob tear gas through your window at 3am and make you hand over your trilobites. In general, any collector who uses common sense and courtesy, and doesn't try to get greedy, has nothing to worry about from the government, and can go ahead and collect with a clear conscience. Although the laws in Alberta do seem pretty nasty, I and a lot of other local collectors can sympathize with the reasons behind them. As you know, parts of Alberta are very rich in dinosaur bones. In the early years of this century, literally hundreds of skeletons were shipped out of the province to stock museums in New York, Washington, Toronto, Ottawa, London and Paris. Believe it or not, until the Tyrrell Museum was built in the late 1970s, the only complete dinosaur skeleton on display in the entire province was on loan from the national museum in Ottawa! Obviously this situation tends to rub locals the wrong way. I'm sure you're well aware of all the hysteria that's been going on lately with Jurassic Park and whatnot driving up the prices of fossils all over the world. Scientists in the US and Canada have had to post armed guards at excavation sites to prevent looters from taking over. If not for the existing laws, it's doubtful if there would be a scrap of bone left anywhere in the province.