[meteorite-list] Newbie Meteorite Hunter Question - For the Vets, Pros and Finder-Extraordinaires.

From: Michael Gilmer <michael_w_gilmer_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:20:57 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <976470.26105.qm_at_web58406.mail.re3.yahoo.com>

Hi Ladies, Gentlemen, and assorted fair listoids!

I have a couple of burning questions for the veteran meteorite hunters who go out into the field.

First, the setup :

I was doing a bit of meteorite web-surfing today and I ended up on Svend Buhl's website. His articles and
photos that document his expeditions are fascinating to read. Reading them, got me daydreaming about
doing some meteorite hunting myself. Since the wife and I are only months away from hitting the road
in our RV, I plan on doing some meteorite hunting while we are out boondocking in remote locations.

Any meteorite hunting I do will be on US or Canadian soil, since we don't plan on doing any international
travel.

So, now my burning questions :

1) What are the US federal laws regarding finding and removing meteorites from federally-administered
lands? What about state and national parks? Are Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas any
different from state and national parks in regarding to meteorite hunting.

2) Suppose I am out stargazing in the middle of nowhere, like out in Death Valley away from roads and
civilization. And then suppose I get lucky and find a meteorite on land that I determine is state or
federally-owned. What is my next step? What do I do? Can I remove the meteorite, after documenting
it in-situ properly? And then where do I take it so it can be added to science without getting myself
arrested and/or fined?

3) Suppose I find a meteorite located on remote land that is owned by some large holding company or
corporation? Let's say that I find a meteorite on property owned by one of the big natural gas companies.
What do I do then? Do I document it and then contact the company that owns the land? Then what?
Do I just surrender it to them, or do we work out some kind of deal where I can donate it and get a slice
or endcut for my trouble?

4) Is there any kind of pass or permit that I can acquire from the states or federal government that will
allow me to keep meteorites (or minerals) that I find on state/federal land?

5) Do any of these rules vary for different types of finds? - i.e., minerals, rocks, fossils, relics, precious
stones/metals, etc.

Thanks in advance!

MikeG

.........................................................
Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
Member of the Meteoritical Society.
Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fine_meteorites_4_sale
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Received on Sun 26 Oct 2008 07:20:57 PM PDT