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I became aware of the geological importance of northern Minnesota when my uncle Tom Aldrich went to the Ely area around the 1970’s. His long-term interest was understanding the basic science of the earth’s crust. Tom’s team exploded things and measured the resulting sound waves passing through the 3.5-billion-year-old rock.
Fast forward to today. I retired my credentials but continue to read Bench & Bar, the organ of the Minnesota State Bar Association. In the March 2022 issue is a scholarly article by Kathleen Reitz, an Assistant Minnesota Attorney General; who knew that rock and fossil collecting was so fraught with rules? Bedrock rules: The law on non-commercial collection of rocks and fossils on public lands in Minnesota (mnbar.org). (Some of the data in this article came from other internet sources.) Here are some gems unearthed for us:
–At least in Montana, if you own only the mineral rights, you don’t own the fossils. The Montana Court said fossils are not minerals; the land’ surface owners own the valuable dinosaur bones underneath.
State Rules–There are many severed minerals rights owners in Minnesota, some holding rights under some of the 12 million acres of state-owned lands. 680,389 acres of Cook County are owned by the State, of which 80,028 acres are managed by the DNR. Lake and St. Louis Counties likely have more.
—-State parks, recreational areas, and wildlife areas generally prohibit recreational rock collecting. Incorporated cities may have different rules.
—Federal Rules. The bulk of the U.S. owned land in Cook and Lake Counties is in the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters. Different managers and rules apply to rock and fossil collecting on federal lands.
–Federal fossil collecting is governed by the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009. It permits collection of a “reasonable amount” of certain fossils. Avoid fossils that bear a connection with human life or civilization. Recreational fossil hunters are limited to 25 pounds a day and 100 pounds in a year.
–Rock hounding in national forests and grasslands requires a free use permit. Petrified wood is treated as a mineral, not a fossil. Free use rock may not be collected to be resold.
–The Federal Wildlife Service permits recreational collection of most rocks, including those found with handheld gold pans, but prohibits searching for or removing semi-precious rocks, stones, or minerals and no fossils collected.
–National parks and trails prohibit recreational collecting of fossils and rocks. The North Country National Scenic Trail is the longest in the National Trails System, stretching 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont. In Minnesota, the 800 trail miles extend from Jay Cooke State Park up the North Shore, across the Boundary Waters and back southwest through Ely and Hibbing to Grand Rapids and on west. No motors. Detail can be found at North Country National Scenic Trail | Explore Minnesota.
Note that the Superior Hiking Trail portion of the North Country Trail is green on the map. I believe that means that it is differently managed from the federally managed trails. Agate collectors may want to check. There is a State Hiking Trail Association. www.superiorhiking.org/.
Miscellany. Minnesota has had a semi-official state fossil since 2021. The Giant Beaver won a contest by the Science Museum of Minnesota. The Museum seeks legislative officialdom for that Beaver this Session. The state gemstone is the Lake Superior Agate. We currently have no state mineral, rock, or stone. Hard deal.
Watch out for prohibited flintstones and fossils wherever you must. When in doubt, ask the federal or state agency likely involved. And be gentle with our government employees. As Senator Everett Dirksen said in 1964, you get more with the oil can than the sword (or rock hammer, Barney).
Steve Aldrich is a retired Hennepin County lawyer, judge, and mediator, serving as judge from 1997-2010. He and his wife moved here in 2016. He likes to remember that he was a Minnesota Super Family Lawyer before being elected to the bench. Now he is among the most vulnerable to viruses. Steve really enjoys doing weddings, the one thing a retired judge can do without appointment by the Chief Justice.
Copyright Stephen C. Aldrich and News Herald, 2022
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