I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2416

To provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2003

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GEORGE

MILLER of California, Ms. LEE, Mr. BEREUTER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. REHBERG, and Mr. UDALL of 

Colorado) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL

To provide for the protection of paleontological resources 

on Federal lands, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paleontological Re5 sources Preservation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Paleontological resources are nonrenewable. 

2 Such resources on Federal lands are an accessible 

3 and irreplaceable part of the heritage of the United 

4 States and offer significant educational opportunities 

5 to all citizens. 

6 (2) Existing Federal laws, statutes, and other 

7 provisions that manage paleontological resources are 

8 not articulated in a unified national policy for Fed9 eral land management agencies and the public. Such 

10 a policy is needed to improve scientific under11 standing, to promote responsible stewardship, and to 

12 facilitate the enhancement of responsible paleon13 tological collecting activities on Federal lands. 

14 (3) Consistent with the statutory provisions ap15 plicable to each Federal land management system, 

16 reasonable access to paleontological resources on 

17 Federal lands should be provided for scientific, edu18 cational, and recreational purposes. 

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

20 The purpose of this Act is to establish a comprehen21 sive national policy for preserving and managing paleon22 tological resources on Federal lands. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 As used in this Act: 
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1 (1) CASUAL COLLECTING.—The term ‘‘casual 

2 collecting’’ means the collecting of a reasonable 

3 amount of common invertebrate and plant paleon4 tological resources for personal, scientific, edu5 cational or recreational use, either by surface collec6 tion or using non-powered hand tools resulting in 

7 only negligible disturbance to the Earth’s surface 

8 and other resources. 

9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands 

11 administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the 

12 Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National 

13 Forest System Lands administered by the Secretary 

14 of Agriculture. 

15 (3) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 lands’’ means lands administered by the Secretary of 

17 the Interior, except Indian lands, or National Forest 

18 System Lands administered by the Secretary of Ag19 riculture. 

20 (4) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian Lands’’ 

21 means lands of Indian tribes, or Indian individuals, 

22 which are either held in trust by the United States 

23 or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed 

24 by the United States. 
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1 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the fifty 

2 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

3 of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession 

4 of the United States. 

5 (6) PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term 

6 ‘‘paleontological resource’’ means any fossilized re7 mains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in 

8 or on the earth’s crust, that are of paleontological 

9 interest and that provide information about the his10 tory of life on earth, except that the term does not 

11 include—

12 (A) any materials associated with an ar13 chaeological resource (as defined in section 3(1) 

14 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act 

15 of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb(1))); or 

16 (B) any cultural item (as defined in section 

17 2 of the Native American Graves Protection 

18 and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)). 

19 (7) COMMON INVERTEBRATE AND PLANT PALE20 ONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘common in21 vertebrate and plant paleontological resources’’ 

22 means fossils that are not significant. 

23 (8) SIGNIFICANT.—The term ‘‘significant’’ is a 

24 fossil that meets scientific significance criteria as de-
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1 termined by the Secretary in the promulgation of 

2 uniform rules and regulations under this Act. 

3 (9) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘quali4 fied applicant’’ is someone who possesses a graduate 

5 degree in paleontology or related topics; or the 

6 equivalent experience with one who meets that 

7 standard. 

8 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage and 

10 protect paleontological resources on Federal lands using 

11 scientific principles and expertise. The Secretary shall de12 velop appropriate plans for inventory, monitoring, and the 

13 scientific and educational use of paleontological resources, 

14 in accordance with applicable agency laws, regulations, 

15 and policies. These plans shall emphasize interagency co16 ordination and collaborative efforts where possible with 

17 non-Federal partners, the scientific community, and the 

18 general public. 

19 (b) COORDINATION OF IMPLEMENTATION.—To the 

20 extent possible, the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec21 retary of Agriculture shall coordinate in the implementa22 tion of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 6. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

2 The Secretary shall establish a program to increase 

3 public awareness about the significance of paleontological 

4 resources. 

5 SEC. 7. COLLECTION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES. 

6 (a) PERMIT REQUIREMENT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

8 Act, a paleontological resource may not be collected 

9 from Federal lands without a permit issued under 

10 this Act by the Secretary. 

11 (2) CASUAL COLLECTING EXCEPTION.—The 

12 Secretary may allow casual collecting without a per13 mit on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of 

14 Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and 

15 the U.S. Forest Service, where such collection is not 

16 inconsistent with the laws governing the manage17 ment of those Federal lands and this Act. 

18 (3) PREVIOUS PERMIT EXCEPTION.—Nothing in 

19 this section shall affect a valid permit issued prior 

20 to the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT.—The 

22 Secretary may issue a permit for the collection of a paleon23 tological resource pursuant to an application if the Sec24 retary determines that—

25 (1) the permitted activity shall be carried out 

26 by a qualified applicant; 
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1 (2) the permitted activity is undertaken for the 

2 purpose of furthering paleontological knowledge or 

3 for public education; 

4 (3) the permitted activity is consistent with any 

5 management plan applicable to the Federal lands 

6 concerned; and 

7 (4) the proposed methods of collecting will not 

8 threaten significant natural or cultural resources. 

9 (c) PERMIT SPECIFICATIONS.—A permit for the col10 lection of a paleontological resource issued under this sec11 tion shall contain such terms and conditions as the Sec12 retary deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

13 Act. Every permit shall include requirements that—

14 (1) the paleontological resource that is collected 

15 from Federal lands under the permit will remain the 

16 property of the United States; 

17 (2) the paleontological resource and copies of 

18 associated records will be preserved for the public in 

19 an approved repository, to be made available for sci20 entific research and public education; and 

21 (3) specific locality data will not be released by 

22 the permittee or repository without the written per23 mission of the Secretary. 

24 (d) MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, AND REVOCATION

25 OF PERMITS.—
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1 (1) The Secretary may modify, suspend, or re2 voke a permit issued under this section—

3 (A) for resource, safety, or other manage4 ment considerations; or 

5 (B) when there is a violation of term or 

6 condition of a permit issued pursuant to this 

7 section. 

8 (2) The permit shall be revoked if any person 

9 working under the authority of the permit is con10 victed under section 9 or is assessed a civil penalty 

11 under section 10. 

12 SEC. 8. CURATION OF RESOURCES. 

13 Any paleontological resource, and any data and 

14 records associated with the resource, collected under a per15 mit, shall be deposited in an approved repository. The Sec16 retary may enter into agreements with non-Federal reposi17 tories regarding the curation of these resources, data, and 

18 records. 

19 SEC. 9. PROHIBITED ACTS; PENALTIES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person may not—

21 (1) excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise 

22 alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, dam23 age, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological 

24 resources located on Federal lands unless such activ25 ity is conducted in accordance with this Act; 
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1 (2) exchange, transport, export, receive, or offer 

2 to exchange, transport, export, or receive any pale3 ontological resource if, in the exercise of due care, 

4 the person knew or should have known such resource 

5 to have been excavated, removed, exchanged, trans6 ported, or received from Federal lands in violation of 

7 any provisions, rule, regulation, law, ordinance, or 

8 permit in effect under Federal law, including this 

9 Act; or 

10 (3) sell or purchase or offer to sell or purchase 

11 any paleontological resource if, in the exercise of due 

12 care, the person knew or should have known such re13 source to have been excavated, removed, sold, pur14 chased, exchanged, transported, or received from 

15 Federal lands. 

16 (b) FALSE LABELING OFFENSES.—A person may not 

17 make or submit any false record, account, or label for, 

18 or any false identification of, any paleontological resource 

19 excavated or removed from Federal lands. 

20 (c) PENALTIES.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graphs (2) and (3), a person who knowingly violates 

23 or counsels, procures, solicits, or employs another 

24 person to violate subsection (a) or (b) shall, upon 

25 conviction, be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 
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1 (2) DAMAGE OVER $1,000.—If the sum of the 

2 scientific or fair market value of the paleontological 

3 resources involved and the cost of restoration and 

4 repair of such resources exceeds the sum of $1,000, 

5 such person shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a 

6 class E felony. 

7 (3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES.—In the case of a 

8 second or subsequent such violation, such person 

9 shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a class D felony. 

10 (d) GENERAL EXCEPTION.—Nothing in subsection 

11 (a) shall apply to any person with respect to any paleon12 tological resource which was in the lawful possession of 

13 such person prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 10. CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF REGULA15 TIONS OR PERMIT CONDITIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—

17 (1) HEARING.—A person who violates any pro18 hibition contained in an applicable regulation or per19 mit issued under this Act may be assessed a penalty 

20 by the Secretary after the person is given notice and 

21 opportunity for a hearing with respect to the viola22 tion. Each violation shall be considered a separate 

23 offense for purposes of this section. 

24 (2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—The amount of 

25 such penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall be 
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1 determined under regulations promulgated pursuant 

2 to this Act, taking into account the following factors: 

3 (A) The scientific or fair market value, 

4 whichever is greater, of the paleontological re5 source involved. 

6 (B) The cost of response, restoration, and 

7 repair of the resource and the paleontological 

8 site involved. 

9 (C) Any other factors considered relevant 

10 by the Secretary assessing the penalty. 

11 (3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES.—In the case of a 

12 second or subsequent violation by the same person, 

13 the amount of a penalty assessed under paragraph 

14 (2) may be doubled. 

15 (4) LIMITATION.—The amount of any penalty 

16 assessed under this subsection for any one violation 

17 shall not exceed an amount equal to double the cost 

18 of response, restoration, and repair of resources and 

19 paleontological site damage plus double the scientific 

20 or fair market value of resources destroyed or not 

21 recovered. 

22 (b) PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW; COLLECTION

23 OF UNPAID ASSESSMENTS.—Any person against whom an 

24 order is issued assessing a penalty under subsection (a) 

25 may file a petition for judicial review of the order with 
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1 an appropriate Federal district court within the 30-day 

2 period beginning on the date the order making the assess3 ment was issued. The court shall hear the action on the 

4 record made before the Secretary and shall sustain his ac5 tion if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record 

6 considered as a whole. 

7 (c) HEARINGS.—Hearings held during proceedings 

8 instituted under subsection (a) shall be conducted in ac9 cordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (d) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Any penalties 

11 collected under this section shall be available to the Sec12 retary and without further appropriation may be used only 

13 as follows: 

14 (1) To protect, restore, or repair the paleon15 tological resources and sites which were the subject 

16 of the action, or to acquire sites with equivalent re17 sources, and to protect, monitor, and study the re18 sources and sites. Any acquisition shall be subject to 

19 any limitations contained in the organic legislation 

20 for such Federal lands. 

21 (2) To provide educational materials to the 

22 public about paleontological resources and sites. 

23 (3) To provide for the payment of Rewards as 

24 provided in section 11. 
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1 SEC. 11. REWARDS FORFEITURE. 

2 (a) REWARDS.—The Secretary may pay from pen3 alties collected under section 9 or 10 an amount equal to 

4 the lesser of one-half of the penalty or $500, to any person 

5 who furnishes information which leads to the finding of 

6 a civil violation, or the conviction of criminal violation, 

7 with respect to which the penalty was paid. If several per8 sons provided the information, the amount shall be divided 

9 among the persons. No officer or employee of the United 

10 States or of any State or local government who furnishes 

11 information or renders service in the performance of his 

12 official duties shall be eligible for payment under this sub13 section. 

14 (b) FORFEITURE.—All paleontological resources with 

15 respect to which a violation under section 9 or 10 occurred 

16 and which are in the possession of any person, and all 

17 vehicles and equipment of any person that were used in 

18 connection with the violation, may be subject to forfeiture 

19 to the United States upon—

20 (1) the person’s conviction of the violation 

21 under section 9; 

22 (2) assessment of a civil penalty against any 

23 person under section 10 with respect to the viola24 tion; or 
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1 (3) a determination by any court that the pale2 ontological resources, vehicles, or equipment were in3 volved in the violation. 

4 SEC. 12. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

5 Information concerning the nature and specific loca6 tion of a paleontological resource the collection of which 

7 requires a permit under this Act or under any other provi8 sion of Federal law shall be withheld from the public under 

9 subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, 

10 or under any other provision of law unless the responsible 

11 Secretary determines that disclosure would—

12 (1) further the purposes of this Act; 

13 (2) not create risk of harm to or theft or de14 struction of the resource or the site containing the 

15 resource; and 

16 (3) be in accordance with other applicable laws. 

17 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 

18 As soon as practical after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue uniform regulations 

20 as are appropriate to carry out this Act, providing oppor21 tunities for public notice and comment. 

22 SEC. 14. ROCK COLLECTING ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM 

23 LANDS. 

24 Casual collecting of rocks and minerals for personal 

25 use is a valid use of National Forest System lands and 
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1 requires no permit except as provided by other statutes 

2 and agency regulations. 

3 SEC. 15. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

5 (1) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 

6 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac7 tivities permitted at any time under the general min8 ing laws, the mineral or geothermal leasing laws, 

9 laws providing for minerals materials disposal, or 

10 laws providing for the management or regulation of 

11 the activities authorized by the aforementioned laws 

12 including but not limited to the Federal Land Policy 

13 Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701–1784), the Min14 ing in the Parks Act, the Surface Mining Control 

15 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201–

16 1358), and the Organic Administration Act (16 

17 U.S.C. 478, 482, 551); 

18 (2) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 

19 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac20 tivities permitted at any time existing laws and au21 thorities relating to reclamation and multiple uses of 

22 the public lands; 

23 (3) apply to, or require a permit for, amateur 

24 collecting of a rock, mineral, or invertebrate or plant 

25 fossil that is not protected under this Act; 
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1 (4) affect any lands other than Federal lands or 

2 affect the lawful recovery, collection, or sale of pale3 ontological resources from lands other than Federal 

4 lands; 

5 (5) alter or diminish the authority of a Federal 

6 agency under any other law to provide protection for 

7 paleontological resources on Federal lands in addi8 tion to the protection provided under this Act; or 

9 (6) create any right, privilege, benefit, or enti10 tlement for any person who is not an officer or em11 ployee of the United States acting in that capacity. 

12 No person who is not an officer or employee of the 

13 United States acting in that capacity shall have 

14 standing to file any civil action in a court of the 

15 United States to enforce any provision or amend16 ment made by this Act. 

17 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

19 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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