Dear List, A question came up about who owns meteorites found on federal land.
Below is a link that can be cut and pasted into a browser that discusses removal of minerals from federal land. I was told by a BLM officer that 150 pounds can be removed a year for non-commercial/hobby purposes. The BLM will issue free non-commercial use permits if requested. I found that they will even mail them to you free. If you are caught removing minerals without one, the fines can be as great as $100,000.00 or a year in jail. If a meteorite weighs more than 150 pounds, it will have to be cut in the field and the rest recovered during subsequent years or the Smithsonian may claim it. The BLM can and will come after you if profits from any object including meteorites are taken from the sale of minerals from federal land. I was told that eBay is monitored all of time and notes taken. I made some poor agent spend more than an hour on the phone explaining what is and isn't acceptable to them to avoid future problems. The good news is that you can keep the meteorites! I think Jack,s approach of keeping the press out of this fall is well thought out. The first thing the press will do is mention there is monetary value in meteorites and then "Gold Fever" will set in. I have seen people do strange things and come up with poorly thought out plans when "Gold Fever" takes hold. People with this affliction are usually the ones that relentlessly chase the press instead of looking for meteorites themselves. They will stab fellow hunters in the back and forget all about long-forged friendships. They are best avoided all-together. Here is a link that will explain mineral laws in simple English: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/MINERALS__REALTY__AND_RESOURCE_PROTECTION_/non-energy_minerals.Par.48557.File.dat/sand.pdf By the way, Congratulations Jack, excellent job all around! Best Regards, Adam ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
