Paper: Montclair Tribune City: Montclair, California Date: Thursday, August 04, 1977 Page: 10
Nation's second largest meteorite
County backed in rock battle
San Bernardino County has enlisted the support of several Western states in its legal battle to keep the nation's second largest meteorite discovered in the county's desert area, from leaving California for Washington, D.C.
County supervisors were told Monday that the Western Association of Regional Councils has endorsed the county's bid to retain the Old Woman Meteorite.
The association, which represents councils of local governments in eight states acted upon a motion by Supervisor Dennis L. Hansberger, this year's president of the Southern California Association of Governments.
If the county wins its suit against the federal government for possession of the three-ton meteorite, it will agree to loan the meteorite for display in the West's major museums, Hansberger said.
Furthermore, the association urged Congress to amend the Antiquities Act "on the basis that it results in cultural and scientific discrimination against the people of the western United States." Hansberger said.
Under the 1906 law, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management claimed possession of the meteorite and turned it over to the Smithsonian Institution, which plans to ship it to Washington.
The county's request for a preliminary injunction against the meteorite's removal from California will be ruled upon this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The meteorite is now at the Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Hansberger and Supervisors' Chairman Robert O. Townsend of Chino also reacted sharply to a Smithsonian proposal that would leave California with a fiberglass replica of the nickel-iron meteorite, plus a slice or two of the rock, if the Smithsonian wins the court battle.
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Clear Skies, Mark Bostick www.meteoritearticles.com
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