Arizona's Paleontology Law

From the Bureau of Land Management:

On March 30, 2009, a mandate for Paleontological Resources Preservation became law when President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009. The law requires the Secretaries of the United States Department of Interior and Agriculture to manage and protect paleontological resources on Federal land using scientific principles and expertise. The PRPA includes specific provisions addressing management of these resources by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Citation: Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009, Paleontological Resources Preservation (OPLA-PRP) P.L. 111-11, Title VI, Subtitle D, Sections 6301-6312, 123 Stat. 1172, 16 U.S.C. 470aaa

Quick facts about the new law...

• Paleontological Resource Preservation became law on March 30, 2009 as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009.

• Congress recognizes the value of paleontological resources as a natural legacy and an irreplaceable part of America’s heritage by passing the OPLA-PRP.

• On the whole, the OPLA-PRP will not significantly change the way the BLM manages paleontological resources on public lands.

• OPLA-PRP ensures that the public may continue to collect a reasonable amount of common invertebrate and plant fossils on public land without a permit. OPLA-PRP does not change BLM’s long-standing policy prohibiting the bartering or selling of casually collected fossils.

• You still need a permit to conduct scientific inquiry and collect significant paleontological resources from public lands, including vertebrate fossils.

• Any paleontological resources collected under permit from public lands remain U.S. Government property and must be curated in an approved curation facility where they will be available for scientific research and public education.

• OPLA-PRP includes civil penalties for illegal theft and vandalism of paleontological resources from public lands, and provides stiffer penalties for criminal theft and vandalism.

• OPLA-PRP provides the BLM with the authority to offer rewards to the public who help BLM prosecute illegal activities on public lands.

• Under OPLA-PRP, the BLM will establish programs that increase public awareness about the significance of paleontological resources.

• Information about the nature and specific location of paleontological resources on public lands are confidential and not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.