SEC. 11. REWARDS FORFEITURE. 
(a) REWARDS.—The Secretary may pay from pen-
alties collected under section 9 or 10 an amount equal to 
the lesser of one-half of the penalty or $500, to any person 
who furnishes information which leads to the finding of 
a civil violation, or the conviction of criminal violation, 
with respect to which the penalty was paid. If several per-
sons provided the information, the amount shall be divided 
among the persons. No officer or employee of the United 
States or of any State or local government who furnishes 
information or renders service in the performance of his 
official duties shall be eligible for payment under this sub-
section. 
(b) FORFEITURE.—All paleontological resources with 
respect to which a violation under section 9 or 10 occurred 
and which are in the possession of any person, and all 
vehicles and equipment of any person that were used in 
connection with the violation, may be subject to forfeiture 
to the United States upon—
(1) the person’s conviction of the violation 
under section 9; 
(2) assessment of a civil penalty against any 
person under section 10 with respect to the viola-
tion; or
(3) a determination by any court that the pale-
ontological resources, vehicles, or equipment were in-
volved in the violation. 
SEC. 12. CONFIDENTIALITY. 
Information concerning the nature and specific loca-
tion of a paleontological resource the collection of which 
requires a permit under this Act or under any other provi-
sion of Federal law shall be withheld from the public under 
subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, 
or under any other provision of law unless the responsible 
Secretary determines that disclosure would—
(1) further the purposes of this Act; 
(2) not create risk of harm to or theft or de-
struction of the resource or the site containing the 
resource; and 
(3) be in accordance with other applicable laws. 
SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 
As soon as practical after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue uniform regulations 
as are appropriate to carry out this Act, providing oppor-
tunities for public notice and comment. 
SEC. 14. ROCK COLLECTING ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM 
LANDS. 
Casual collecting of rocks and minerals for personal 
use is a valid use of National Forest System lands and
requires no permit except as provided by other statutes 
and agency regulations. 
SEC. 15. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—
(1) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 
restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac-
tivities permitted at any time under the general min-
ing laws, the mineral or geothermal leasing laws, 
laws providing for minerals materials disposal, or 
laws providing for the management or regulation of 
the activities authorized by the aforementioned laws 
including but not limited to the Federal Land Policy 
Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701–1784), the Min-
ing in the Parks Act, the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201–
1358), and the Organic Administration Act (16 
U.S.C. 478, 482, 551); 
(2) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 
restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac-
tivities permitted at any time existing laws and au-
thorities relating to reclamation and multiple uses of 
the public lands; 
(3) apply to, or require a permit for, amateur 
collecting of a rock, mineral, or invertebrate or plant 
fossil that is not protected under this Act;
(4) affect any lands other than Federal lands or 
affect the lawful recovery, collection, or sale of pale-
ontological resources from lands other than Federal 
lands; 
(5) alter or diminish the authority of a Federal 
agency under any other law to provide protection for 
paleontological resources on Federal lands in addi-
tion to the protection provided under this Act; or 
(6) create any right, privilege, benefit, or enti-
tlement for any person who is not an officer or em-
ployee of the United States acting in that capacity. 
No person who is not an officer or employee of the 
United States acting in that capacity shall have 
standing to file any civil action in a court of the 
United States to enforce any provision or amend-
ment made by this Act. 
SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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