Linton,
You needn't worry, meteorite hunting will continue, coordinates will be
recorded and data still be provided to the scientific community. The law
is the same as it was, it's simply being published more publicly on the
BLM's websites. However if people do try to enforce it, it will not be
pretty, legal proceeding will follow, and it will most probably go all
the way to the Supreme Court. However it doesn;t have to be that way.
I agree that Jeff's idea sounds like it may work. It's all about sharing
and cooperating but most of all trust. It seems some scientists don't
trust the private sector enough to collect data properly and that they
think they should be the only ones to be allowed to collect. Says who?
To make it rewarding for all parties involved in the recovery,
classification, display, and private collection I would think a 50/50
deal seems appropriate. Some would scoff at this, but it's better than
the alternative which is to punish those who find meteorites or remove
them from federal lands effectively removing almost all motivation for
private individuals to hunt and collect the data, at least publicly.
Create a 50/50 deal and divide the meteorite between the government and
the private finder. The finder gets to do whatever they wish with their
50% and the government/institutions can have a LARGE percentage of the
original specimen for display and study including material for
distribution to universities worldwide for continued study and display.
Which could also be provided to private collectors by the party who
recovered the meteorite to begin with.
The motivation remains for private researcher to hunt, the scientists
get material to study, the Smithsonian gets a piece to display in the
National Museum of Natural History, and the government is happy because
they get 50% of the stone instead of 20%.
I have a question... What happens when there's a new meteorite fall on
federal land? Do you actually think meteorite hunters are not going to
hunt? What motivation is there, and why would anyone simply hand over
all the meteorites to the US government under the current
"interpretation" of the 1906 Antiquities Act? Or is this the whole
reason behind it? Remove the motivation, and you stop the hunters?
Three things will happen, more meteorites will be found on private land,
the "DATA" that the government and scientists are trying to protect will
be lost, and less meteorites will be available for everyone...
A lose/lose/lose... All around...
A win/win would be to share. I mean that is after all what we teach our
children...
Isn't it?
Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
On 3/9/2010 4:30 PM, Linton Rohr wrote:
I agree, Robert.
I have read a lot of good (and bad) thoughts in this thread, but
Jeff's is probably the most sensible. Certainly the most hopeful,
should Ruben's information prove to be correct. This may just be the
first step in an evolving policy. We'll see. I may have picked a bad
time to 'start' hunting. Then again, there's still private land.
Linton
----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Woolard"
<meteoritefin...@yahoo.com>
To: "Jeff Grossman" <jgross...@usgs.gov>
Cc: <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 4:32 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Request > Glorieta Mountain strewnfield map
Jeff,
You wrote in part:
"A good policy would continue to reward those
who find these objects on behalf of the people, but also
prevent the loss of scientific information and significant
specimens.
The question becomes, how can a reasonable regulation and
permitting process be created? I'll discuss this with
my colleagues in DOI and the SI, and perhaps groups like the
IMCA can help lobby for this as well. I think it is
quite achievable."
THANK you so much for your very intelligent and logical input. You
are exactly the kind of "scientist/human being" ;-) we need! We
are lucky to have someone like you as a member of The List. I'm sure
we all greatly appreciate your willingness to help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Robert Woolard
Once everybody gets all the anger out of their systems, the time comes
for all interested parties to work within the existing framework of
laws, regulations, and precedents and help develop a permitting
process that allows meteorite hunting under certain conditions. If I
were drafting this, it would at least include provisions requiring
environmentally responsible collection methods, accurate documentation
(photography, gps, mass), registration of find info within some time
period, the right of first refusal for up to half of each object by
the Smithsonian, and mandatory deposition of 20 g/20% in an
institutional collection (including any material accepted by the SI).
I think reasonable people recognize that these meteorites belong to
the people of the US, but that specimens would mostly not be found
without the efforts of private citizens. A good policy would continue
to reward those who find these objects on behalf of the people, but
also prevent the loss of scientific information and significant
specimens.
The question becomes, how can a reasonable regulation and permitting
process be created? I'll discuss this with my colleagues in DOI and
the SI, and perhaps groups like the IMCA can help lobby for this as
well. I think it is quite achievable.
Jeff
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