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Hobby Collecting in Utah

Collecting Fossils on BLM-administered lands

Elrathia kingi

Collecting certain common invertebrate and plant fossils on BLM-administered lands is allowable without a permit.  It is your responsibility to be familliar with these regulations before starting. 

Some areas on BLM-administered lands may be closed to hobby collecting for various reasons including mineral leasing, mining claims, scientific study, resource preservation, and public safety.

 

A group of paleontologists in the fieldContact the nearest BLM office to inquire about areas that may be closed to fossil collection or other recreational activities.

COMMON INVERTEBRATE AND PLANT FOSSILS

Common invertebrate fossils include the fossilized remains of animals without a backbone, including snails, oysters, ammonites, corals, shellfish, and others.  This also includes different types of preservation in rock, including tracks, traces, burrows, impressions, and original hard-parts.
Ammonite from Muddy Creek  Silicified Gastropods from the House Range  Borrows (background) and Brachiopods (foreground) from Confusion Range

Plant fossils include leaf and stem impressions, root traces, and original material.  Petrified wood is subject to specific regulations and is discussed below.

What is a reasonable ammount?

You may collect common invertebrate and plant fossils for NONCOMMERCIAL purposes only.  A reasonable ammount is what you may keep for a personal hobby collection or display in your home.  Collecting common invertebrate or plant fossils for landscaping (even if it's just around your house) is not a hobby activity and must be done as a mineral materials sale.  (43CFR3602)

Do I need a permit?

If you wish to collect common invertebrate or plant fossils for landscaping, sale, or commercial purposes you must apply to the BLM for a mineral materials sale.  (43CFR3602)

Some invertebrate or plant fossils are rare or unusual and are therefore not considered to be common.  These may include impressions of rare precambrian soft-bodied fauna or other taxa that are unstudied or new to science.  Rare or unusual invertebrate or plant fossils, as determined by the current state of the sciences of invertebrate paleontology or paleobotany, must be deposited in a museum and may only be collected with a paleontological resource use permit.

While plant fossils that have carbonized in the fossilization process often become coal or oil, the extraction of these resources is regulated under specific mining and mineral extraction laws.  See the BLM energy program for more information on mining and minerals.

Paleontology

Document links

Fossil Theft

 
The BLM Office of Law Enforcement (OLES) is heavily involved with the protection of fossils on lands administered by the BLM. Paleontological resources constitute a fragile and nonrenewable scientific record of the history of life on earth.

Follow the link to find out more about Fossil Theft.

PETRIFIED WOOD

Petrified Wood - Wolverine Petrified Wood Natural Area

It is permissible to collect reasonable ammounts of common invertebrate fossils and petrified wood.  (43CFR8365.1-5)

What is a reasonable ammount?

BLM regulations allow the collection of 25 pounds per day of petrified wood plus one piece, provided that the total removed by one person does not exceed 250 pounds in one callendar year.  Pooling of quotas to obtain pieces larger than 250 pounds is not allowed.  (43CFR3622.4)

Power equipment, explosives, or heavy digging or hauling equipment may NOT be used to excavate or remove petrified wood.  (43CFR3622.4)

Do I need a permit?

If you intend to remove more than 250 pounds of petrified wood in one callendar year, intend to remove a petrified log that exceeds 250 pounds, or intend to sell or barter petrified wood for profit, then you will need a mineral removal permit.  (43CFR3622.1 and 43CFR3602.10)

If you intend to collect specimens of petrified wood (i.e. logs) that exceed 250 pounds for display in a public museum or similar institution, then you may obtain special permission on a case-by-case basis.  (43CFR3622.2 and 43CFR3604)

If you intend to collect and study scientifically significant specimens of petrified wood for permanent inclusion in a museum collection, then you will need a paleontological resource use permit.

 Where Can I Collect Fossils in Utah?

 

West DesertGreen River
  • Hobby Collecting Near Delta, UT
  • Hobby Collecting Near Price, UT

 

  • Hobby Collecting Near Vernal, UT
  
Canyon CountryColor Country
  • Hobby Collecting Near Moab, UT
  • Hobby Collecting Near Hanksville, UT
  • Hobby Collecting Near Green River, UT
  • Hobby Collecting Near Kanab, UT
 
  • Hobby Collecting Near St. George, UT

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

    • COLLECTING OR DISTURBING FOSSILS IN THE GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT IS NOT ALLOWED

BLM PaleontolgoyContact:  Scott Foss, Regional Paleontologist

   
Last updated: 08-12-2008