Washington, D.C.-The Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee today approved Senator Daniel K. Akaka's bill to protect fossil resources on federal lands.

Paleontological resources, or fossil resources, are increasingly sought by rock and fossil dealers because of the high prices they command on the private market. "Vertebrate fossils are rare and important natural resources that have become increasing endangered due to an increase in the illegal collection of fossil specimens on public lands," Senator Akaka stated.

The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, S. 320, provides uniformity to the patchwork of statues and regulations that currently exist in the Federal agencies with oversight of Federal Lands. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in National Forests, and the U.S. Department of the Interior (including the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service) have regulations and provisions for fossil resources, but this bill provides a clear statute stating the value of fossil resources and providing guidelines for their preservation. The bill does not affect archaeological or cultural resources under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 or the Native American Graves Protection and Rehabilitation Act.

S. 320 was introduced on January 17, 2007. Senator Akaka says he is pleased with the rapid movement of the bill through the Committee. "I am hopeful that the House will move this bill swiftly through its Committees, and I look forward to its enactment later this year. The integrity of our natural resources on public lands depends on this bill," said Senator Akaka.

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