Rock Collecting Rules
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The information presented here was gathered from various sources and as such represents a general collective guide for obtaining rock and mineral specimens. Rules and quotas may be different where you intend to collect. It is always the collectors sole responsibility to know and observe all the rules and to obtain required permission or permits for your intended collection site.
General Rules and Guidelines for Rock Collecting
The Collectors Rules and Code of Ethics
- Respect both private and public property, and do no collecting on privately owned land without the owner's permission. If the area is posted No Standing, No Parking, No Stopping, No Trespassing, No Anything...then don't.
- Keep informed of all laws, rules, and regulations governing collecting on public lands, and observe them.
- Research, locate, and observe the boundary lines of property on which you plan to collect.
- Stay out of old mines.
- Use no firearms or blasting materials in collecting areas.
- Cause no willful damage to property of any kind - fences, buildings, signs, etc.
- Leave all gates as found.
- Find out if there are any fire restrictions in effect. Build fires only in designated or safe places, and make sure that they are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
- Discard no burning material - matches, cigarettes, etc.
- Fill in any holes that you have dug.
- Do non contaminate wells, creeks, or other water supplies.
- Cause no willful damage to collecting material, and take home only what you can reasonably use.
- Leave all collecting areas free of litter, regardless of how you found them.
- Cooperate with field trip leaders and those designated in authority in all collecting areas.
- Report to proper authorities any deposit of material on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generations.
- Appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources
Collecting on BLM Managed Lands
A wide variety of rocks, minerals, and semi-precious gemstones are available for collecting on the million acres of lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Most BLM lands are open to rock collecting, and some areas have been specifically set aside for this purpose. There are collecting restrictions, and a BLM permit may be needed depending on the amount of material you collect, how you collect it, where or when you collect, and whether or not it is used commercially.
Historic Artifacts and Fossils
The Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 prohibits the excavation, collection, or destruction of any archaeological materials located on lands under federal jurisdiction. Vertebrate and other fossils of "recognized scientific interest" also are protected under the Antiquities Act. The indiscriminate removal of certain fossils could affect scientific and educational uses of public lands creating unfortunate gaps in scientific inquiry. Petroglyphs, human remains, dwellings, and artifacts of Native American cultures are protected by law because they are integral to the preservation of the cultural heritage of these ongoing traditions and also may provide important information concerning populations who lived here long ago. Uncontrolled removal could impact the cultural, scientific, and educational uses of these resources.
Click HERE for a list of free and fee rock collecting sites