[Rockhounds] Court Rules Fossils are Minerals

[Stephen Shimatzki]

I am not a fossil guy, so i dont know what I'm talking about, but I'm
confused as to the problem with this change.   Feel free to educate me in a
polite manner with polite discussing if my questions are "dumb" or opinions
contrast to your own...


First, Wouldn't a court rule somewhere along the lines that fossils
collected before this change would be lawful to those that already own them
under old laws?

 I guess i just don't understand how the change puts established
collections at risk.

And like wise, wouldn't it Now be easier to secure "fossil rights" by
purchase from said mineral owners be it fee dig style or exclusive dig
rights?

I would assume by making it a mineral, that more fossils would be recovered
to be sold to museums and collectors?

Or is it just because museums would now have to compete for purchasing
"fossil rights"?

And when mineral rights are bought/sold, can they be separated out? (ie,
only oil or coal rights vs gold or fossil  rights, etc)

Again,  I'm asking for polite discussion, not hammer attacks.  :)

- Steve

On Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 10:50 PM Kreigh Tomaszewski <kreigh at gmail.com wrote:

> I got this from a local geology professor tonight who asked me to share
> it...
>
> I'm sure you heard of this already, the 9th circuit court ruled that all
> fossils in
> Montana are now minerals. The AAAPS is working with Peter Larson and an
> attorney to
> file an Amicus Brief. The goal being to ask the court for an en banc
> hearing by a
> larger panel of judges and get this decision overturned.
>
> I added a little pop up on my webpage for the next 20 days, linking to the
> main
> article which has thee gofundme page from the AAAPS.
>
> I'm not sure if you want to do an email blast to membership, but if so, I
> clipped
> some info from the main article:
>
>
> ________________
>
> A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision reclassified fossils as
> minerals.
> Fossils now fall under the purview of Mineral Rights, taking their legal
> ownership
> from the land or property owner and placing them under the domain of the
> property's
> "Mineral Rights" holder.
>
> This ruling applies to all fossils; vertebrates, invertebrates and plants.
> The
> drastic change in established law now puts academic and commercial
> paleontologist as
> well as the casual fossil collector and museum collections in great peril.
>
> If this ruling stands, mineral right holders will be able to file lawsuits
> to take
> possession of any fossils collected on land that is privately held. Many
> museums are
> in jeopardy of losing important type specimens, and many wonderful fossil
> specimens
> that had been legally collected, prepared and sold could be seized and
> forfeited.
>
> A court ruling like this can easily spill from Montana to rest of the
> states.
>
> There are appeals to the decision being drafted, and AAPS, among other
> groups and
> museums want to fight this decision. AAPS has created a Go Fund Me page to
> raise
> funds to have an attorney produce and file an Amicus Brief. The goal being
> to ask the
> court for an en banc hearing by a larger panel of judges and get this
> decision
> overturned.
>
> To read more about this and help donate to the cause to save fossils and
> preserve
> land owners rights, follow this link:
>
> https://www.aaps.net/newsletter-index.html
>
> I would note that...
>
> *Mineral* - *Wikipedia* <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral>
> https://*en.wikipedia.org <http://en.wikipedia.org>*/wiki/*Mineral*
> <
> https://www.bing.com/search?q=mineral&form=EDGTCT&qs=PF&cvid=a11a590c7bcd4037afec42d6420726ac&refig=ed86998bcbc34fb48696e01094d66fee&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=MSE1#
> >
>
> A *mineral* is a naturally occurring chemical compound, usually of
> crystalline form and not produced by life processes.A *mineral* has one
> specific chemical composition, whereas a rock can be an aggregate of
> different minerals or mineraloids.The study of minerals is called
> mineralogy.. Minerals are classified by variety, species, series and group,
> in order of increasing generality.
>
> If you have any interest in fossils you should be concerned about this
> ruling. If you have any interest in science you should be concerned about
> this ruling. Fossils are not minerals by scientific definition. Just
> saying.
>
> You might want to speak up appropriately and become politically active on
> this issue that threatens our hobby. As List Owner I don't like politics,
> but when politics threaten the hobby it is a valid topic. And I hope some
> of you can find a way to weigh in on the topic effectively with your
> elected officials and the courts.
>
> Fossils are not minerals.
>
> Kreigh
> _______________________________________________
> Rockhounds mailing list
> Subscription Services:
> http://rockhounds.drizzle.com/mailman/listinfo/rockhounds_rockhounds.drizzle.com
> List Usage Policy:
> http://Tomaszewski.net/Kreigh/Rockhounds/Rockhounds.shtml
>