seanbritt Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I know some people are aware, but just thought I'd send a quick reminder, about the Historical Resources Act of Alberta. With the flood, numerous archaeological and paleontological sites have either been exposed or further exposed. According to the Act, it is illegal to remove any artifacts with fines up to $50K. If you happen to come across a find, please report it to Alberta Culture at (780) 431-2300. The best thing to do is take photos and a GPS waypoint to send to them. If you have any questions you can contact them. Please pass along the word as the minute we take these objects away, we loose all information associated with them and, according to the act, are destroying the site. While I know these objects are pretty amazing, please let professionals record the contextual information and contribute to helping preserve our past. I compare it to poaching. We don't like to see fish poached from our rivers, and my fellow colleagues don't appreciate seeing these items poached from their context. There is a great article from the Herald that highlights this and it reminds us that both fossils AND archaeological artifacts are protected: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Hunting+bones+Chances+finding+exposed+fossils+rises+after/8658179/story.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJuanWorm Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 You want to find dinosaurs just go down to the city planning office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutlover Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Ba Dum CHING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanbritt Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Actually know quite a few City Planners quite personally and know how a good portion of them think. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how proactive and forward thinking they are. You want to find out where the issues are? Go right to the source: land developers. $$ is valued more than the greater good and good planning. $$=politicial sway. $$=development on the floodplain. But then again, when you look for the source of any issue it more often than not tends to be $$.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertatrout Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Not all exposed "finds" are regulated that strictly. Surface collecting is a common hobby and is legal if you follow the correct rules. Here's details for any interested parties. http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/research/fossils_law.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanbritt Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 The above article pertains to surface fossil finds only. It does not apply to archaeological finds. While it may seem there is an obvious difference, to the untrained amateur eye they may look the same. Best practice is to keep things where they are. Also, as noted in the link above, in the event of finding a surface fossil you are still required to hand it over to the RTM. Archaeological finds are under the jurisdiction of the RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertatrout Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 The article says within the park fossil collecting is not allowed, you're good to go on provincial public and private land. Not "poaching" in all cases. Finding fossils is one of my favorite hobbies, whether its with a camera or the traditional way. Unless the rules have changed recently I had confirmed I was good to with an archeologist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.