I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 554 
To provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 18, 2007 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paleontological Re-
sources Preservation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act: 
(1) CASUAL COLLECTING.—The term ‘‘casual 
collecting’’ means the collecting of a reasonable 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
amount of common invertebrate and plant paleon-
tological resources for non-commercial personal use, 
either by surface collection or the use of non-pow-
ered hand tools resulting in only negligible disturb-
ance to the Earth’s surface and other resources. As 
used in this paragraph, the terms ‘‘reasonable 
amount’’, ‘‘common invertebrate and plant paleon-
tological resources’’ and ‘‘negligible disturbance’’ 
shall be determined by the Secretary. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands 
controlled or administered by the Secretary of the 
Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect 
to National Forest System Lands controlled or ad-
ministered by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(3) FEDERAL
LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 
lands’’ means— 
(A) lands controlled or administered by the 
Secretary of the Interior, except Indian lands; 
or 
(B) National Forest System lands con-
trolled or administered by the Secretary of Ag-
riculture. 
(4) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ 
means lands of Indian tribes, or Indian individuals, 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
which are either held in trust by the United States 
or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed 
by the United States. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the fifty 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession 
of the United States. 
(6) PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term 
‘‘paleontological resource’’ means any fossilized re-
mains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in 
or on the earth’s crust, that are of paleontological 
interest and that provide information about the his-
tory of life on earth, except that the term does not 
include— 
(A) any materials associated with an ar-
chaeological resource (as defined in section 3(1) 
of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act 
of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb(1)); or 
(B) any cultural item (as defined in section 
2 of the Native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)). 
SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage and 
protect paleontological resources on Federal lands using 
scientific principles and expertise. The Secretary shall de-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
velop appropriate plans for inventory, monitoring, and the 
scientific and educational use of paleontological resources, 
in accordance with applicable agency laws, regulations, 
and policies. These plans shall emphasize interagency co-
ordination and collaborative efforts where possible with 
non-Federal partners, the scientific community, and the 
general public. 
(b) COORDINATION.—To the extent possible, the Sec-
retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall coordinate in the implementation of this Act. 
SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
The Secretary shall establish a program to increase 
public awareness about the significance of paleontological 
resources. 
SEC. 5. COLLECTION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES. 
(a) PERMIT REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 
Act, a paleontological resource may not be collected 
from Federal lands without a permit issued under 
this Act by the Secretary. 
(2) CASUAL
COLLECTING
EXCEPTION.—The 
Secretary may allow casual collecting without a per-
mit on Federal lands controlled or administered by 
the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of 
Reclamation, and the Forest Service, where such col-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
ty, the Secretary may restrict access to or close areas 
under the Secretary’s jurisdiction to the collection of pale-
ontological resources. 
SEC. 6. CURATION OF RESOURCES. 
Any paleontological resource, and any data and 
records associated with the resource, collected under a per-
mit, shall be deposited in an approved repository. The Sec-
retary may enter into agreements with non-Federal reposi-
tories regarding the curation of these resources, data, and 
records. 
SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS; CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A person may not— 
(1) excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise 
alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, dam-
age, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological 
resources located on Federal lands unless such activ-
ity is conducted in accordance with this Act; 
(2) exchange, transport, export, receive, or offer 
to exchange, transport, export, or receive any pale-
ontological resource if, in the exercise of due care, 
the person knew or should have known such resource 
to have been excavated or removed from Federal 
lands in violation of any provisions, rule, regulation, 
law, ordinance, or permit in effect under Federal 
law, including this Act; or 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(3) sell or purchase or offer to sell or purchase 
any paleontological resource if, in the exercise of due 
care, the person knew or should have known such re-
source to have been excavated, removed, sold, pur-
chased, exchanged, transported, or received from 
Federal lands. 
(b) FALSE LABELING OFFENSES.—A person may not 
make or submit any false record, account, or label for, 
or any false identification of, any paleontological resource 
excavated or removed from Federal lands. 
(c) PENALTIES.—A person who knowingly violates or 
counsels, procures, solicits, or employs another person to 
violate subsection (a) or (b) shall, upon conviction, be 
fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or 
imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; but if the 
sum of the commercial and paleontological value of the 
paleontological resources involved and the cost of restora-
tion and repair of such resources does not exceed $500, 
such person shall be fined in accordance with title 18, 
United States Code, or imprisoned not more than one 
year, or both. 
(d) GENERAL EXCEPTION.—Nothing in subsection 
(a) shall apply to any person with respect to any paleon-
tological resource which was in the lawful possession of 
such person prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
SEC. 8. CIVIL PENALTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) HEARING.—A person who violates any pro-
hibition contained in an applicable regulation or per-
mit issued under this Act may be assessed a penalty 
by the Secretary after the person is given notice and 
opportunity for a hearing with respect to the viola-
tion. Each violation shall be considered a separate 
offense for purposes of this section. 
(2) AMOUNT
OF
PENALTY.—The amount of 
such penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall be 
determined under regulations promulgated pursuant 
to this Act, taking into account the following factors: 
(A) The scientific or fair market value, 
whichever is greater, of the paleontological re-
source involved, as determined by the Secretary. 
(B) The cost of response, restoration, and 
repair of the resource and the paleontological 
site involved. 
(C) Any other factors considered relevant 
by the Secretary assessing the penalty. 
(3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES.—In the case of a 
second or subsequent violation by the same person, 
the amount of a penalty assessed under paragraph 
(2) may be doubled. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(4) LIMITATION.—The amount of any penalty 
assessed under this subsection for any one violation 
shall not exceed an amount equal to double the cost 
of response, restoration, and repair of resources and 
paleontological site damage plus double the scientific 
or fair market value of resources destroyed or not 
recovered. 
(b) PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW; COLLECTION 
OF UNPAID ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Any person against 
whom an order is issued assessing a penalty under 
subsection (a) may file a petition for judicial review 
of the order in the United States District Court for 
the District of Columbia or in the district in which 
the violation is alleged to have occurred within the 
30-day period beginning on the date the order mak-
ing the assessment was issued. Upon notice of such 
filing, the Secretary shall promptly file such a cer-
tified copy of the record on which the order was 
issued. The court shall hear the action on the record 
made before the Secretary and shall sustain the ac-
tion if it is supported by substantial evidence on the 
record considered as a whole. 
(2) FAILURE TO PAY.—If any person fails to 
pay a penalty under this section within 30 days— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(A) after the order making assessment has 
become final and the person has not filed a pe-
tition for judicial review of the order in accord-
ance with paragraph (1); or 
(B) after a court in an action brought in 
paragraph (1) has entered a final judgment up-
holding the assessment of the penalty, the Sec-
retary may request the Attorney General to in-
stitute a civil action in a district court of the 
United States for any district in which the per-
son if found, resides, or transacts business, to 
collect the penalty (plus interest at currently 
prevailing rates from the date of the final order 
or the date of the final judgment, as the case 
may be). The district court shall have jurisdic-
tion to hear and decide any such action. In 
such action, the validity, amount, and appro-
priateness of such penalty shall not be subject 
to review. Any person who fails to pay on a 
timely basis the amount of an assessment of a 
civil penalty as described in the first sentence of 
this paragraph shall be required to pay, in addi-
tion to such amount and interest, attorneys fees 
and costs for collection proceedings. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
18:48 Jan 20, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.IH
H554
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS