Fossils And Archaeological Finds-Reminder About Whats Legal And Illegal

[seanbritt]

 

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

 

[SanJuanWorm]

You want to find dinosaurs just go down to the city planning office.

[troutlover]

Ba Dum CHING!

[seanbritt]

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 $$....

[albertatrout]

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

[seanbritt]

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.

[albertatrout]

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.