The Speeding Carno Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I have been looking into getting started collecting at Pit 11 in Mazon Creek within the Braidwood-Mazon State Park. I know that there are some forms I need to complete to collect at the site. From what I’ve found, the form isn’t even on the park’s website anymore and neither is the report that the form alludes to. Are these forms still valid? Where can I find them? Are there any other rules that I need to know? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 A phone call should get you all the info you need. Park Information: Northeastern Illinois IL Route 53 & Huston Rd. Braceville IL 60407 815-237-0063 2 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Speeding Carno Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said: A phone call should get you all the info you need. Park Information: Northeastern Illinois IL Route 53 & Huston Rd. Braceville IL 60407 815-237-0063 Alright, thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) A copy of the permit form can also be found on the https://americanfossilhunt.com/site of forum member @abach292 at http://americanfossilhunt.com/mazon-creek-permit-fossil-hunting-pit-11-pdf/ It's unfortunate that the IDNR no longer has it on their site anymore for whatever reason. Edited February 20, 2020 by deutscheben Added correct link 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 @deutscheben you beat me to it! This is the only place I've ever been able to find the form. I printed a bunch last year and am saving one to photocopy in case I can't find this online in future years. One thing I noticed is that this link doesn't work for me any more. I get a "not found" error. But in the "Search this website" field that appeared I was able to search for "permit" and a page with the permit showed up. I was able to print and save it as a .jpg to my desktop for future use. March 1 is almost here! So excited! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 By the way, in about 5 trips to Pit 11, I've never been stopped much less asked for the form. But I always have it with me just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 I have been stopped by a ranger, who asked if I was fossil hunting, but he did not ask for my permit. The important rules to know are: Collecting is only permitted March 1 to September 30 No digging, only surface collecting You may collect a maximum of one 5-gallon bucket full of rocks each day (I have never been able to find more than 1/2 that much myself, though!) No commercial sale of fossils found 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 17 hours ago, deutscheben said: I have been stopped by a ranger, who asked if I was fossil hunting, but he did not ask for my permit. The important rules to know are: Collecting is only permitted March 1 to September 30 No digging, only surface collecting You may collect a maximum of one 5-gallon bucket full of rocks each day (I have never been able to find more than 1/2 that much myself, though!) No commercial sale of fossils found I've been asked for a fishing permit, explained that I was fossil hunting, and then sent on my way without being asked for a fossil permit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 1 hour ago, TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory said: I've been asked for a fishing permit, explained that I was fossil hunting, and then sent on my way without being asked for a fossil permit. So, you're walking about with an enormous geological hammer and they ask you for a fishing permit? 5 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 To be fair, I didn't have a hammer since it's surface collecting. I guess it was the bucket He was worried about? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Speeding Carno Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 Sorry to bother again, but would anyone happen to know what report the permit says I have to file is? The permit requests that I fill out a report on all nodules I take from the area. Like the permit, I cannot find a single thing on their website. The permit states: “In order to make sure that information on fossil bearing nodules is not lost and to comply with relevant laws, the Department requires that a report be filed for nodules that are removed from this site. Reports may be returned to the park office, mailed in, or filled out online. The information on this form is very important to increase scientific understanding of this unique site. Therefore, your assistance in this scientific endeavor by filing this report is greatly appreciated” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 As far as I know the IDNR is not recording or collecting this data anymore- as you mentioned they don't even provide information about it on their website. For some great discussion of the reasons behind the development of that process originally as well as the history of collecting in the park, check out this comment by Jack Wittry from last summer: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/95940-its-summer-and-you-want-to-go-to-pit-11-for-mazon-creek-fossils/&page=4&tab=comments#comment-1071739 The entire thread is actually full of great discussion from many veteran Mazon Creek collectors, I highly recommend reading it. I will be out at Mazonia- Braidwood on Sunday and Monday next week, if I have time maybe I will stop by the ranger station and ask about those forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 @deutscheben I'll be there both days as well! Maybe we'll run into each other. Happy hunting! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 13 minutes ago, bigred97 said: @deutscheben I'll be there both days as well! Maybe we'll run into each other. Happy hunting! Chris Thanks, same to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 On 2/28/2020 at 6:38 PM, The Speeding Carno said: Sorry to bother again, but would anyone happen to know what report the permit says I have to file is? The permit requests that I fill out a report on all nodules I take from the area. Like the permit, I cannot find a single thing on their website. The permit states: “In order to make sure that information on fossil bearing nodules is not lost and to comply with relevant laws, the Department requires that a report be filed for nodules that are removed from this site. Reports may be returned to the park office, mailed in, or filled out online. The information on this form is very important to increase scientific understanding of this unique site. Therefore, your assistance in this scientific endeavor by filing this report is greatly appreciated” I stopped by the park office yesterday to try and find this out. Unfortunately the office was closed, but there was a box in front containing copies of a folded up packet with the permit and report, as well as some information about the site. Nearby was a mailbox where the fossil reports could be returned. So it looks like the whole process is analog these days! I have never returned the form, but I wonder if I should start, as a way of showing the IDNR that there is continuing interest in fossil hunting at the park. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Speeding Carno Posted March 4, 2020 Author Share Posted March 4, 2020 21 minutes ago, deutscheben said: I stopped by the park office yesterday to try and find this out. Unfortunately the office was closed, but there was a box in front containing copies of a folded up packet with the permit and report, as well as some information about the site. Nearby was a mailbox where the fossil reports could be returned. So it looks like the whole process is analog these days! I have never returned the form, but I wonder if I should start, as a way of showing the IDNR that there is continuing interest in fossil hunting at the park. Do you think you could somehow manage to upload pictures or copies of those reports and permits to the forum? I think that could be a really great resource for people looking to get involved at Mazon Creek, especially due to the lack of references to it on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 So I had an interesting experience today. Got stopped by an IDNR cop. Explained what I was doing, he claimed that fossil hunting was illegal in state parks. I said that was true except here, and showed him the permit that I printed off the website mentioned earlier in the thread. He claimed that since it was not an original document and just a photocopy, it was not valid and thus I was breaking the law. He let me off with just a warning but said it could be worse if he didn't decide to be nice. So I would recommend everyone grab an actual form from the office rather than print one offline. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Well, that's worrying. Can you describe how to get to the office? I've never been there and I tried to find it once but couldn't. It's troubling that he first said it's illegal to collect fossils in state parks, then changed his tune to say that your permit wasn't valid because it was a photocopy. Did he show a badge or somehow identify himself? It all just sounds so sketchy, but I suppose it could also be a "new guy" that didn't know the rule and then tried to save face by saying a photocopy isn't legal. Even though the IDNR had it on their website for years to download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 25 minutes ago, connorp said: So I had an interesting experience today. Got stopped by an IDNR cop. Explained what I was doing, he claimed that fossil hunting was illegal in state parks. I said that was true except here, and showed him the permit that I printed off the website mentioned earlier in the thread. He claimed that since it was not an original document and just a photocopy, it was not valid and thus I was breaking the law. He let me off with just a warning but said it could be worse if he didn't decide to be nice. So I would recommend everyone grab an actual form from the office rather than print one offline. I have never heard of anything like this happening. i have not bothered with the form for years as no one has ever asked to see it. I agree that it is suspicious that he first stated that no collecting is allowed. i wonder if he was new to the job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 45 minutes ago, bigred97 said: Well, that's worrying. Can you describe how to get to the office? I've never been there and I tried to find it once but couldn't. It's troubling that he first said it's illegal to collect fossils in state parks, then changed his tune to say that your permit wasn't valid because it was a photocopy. Did he show a badge or somehow identify himself? It all just sounds so sketchy, but I suppose it could also be a "new guy" that didn't know the rule and then tried to save face by saying a photocopy isn't legal. Even though the IDNR had it on their website for years to download. I'm not sure where the office is exactly. Maybe in the main unit? @deutscheben mentioned he went earlier in this thread, maybe he can give directions. I did ask the officer (who was definitely an officer) where to get an official form and he didn't seem sure. He did say that this was not his normal area of patrol, and when I told him that collecting was allowed and showed him my permit, he had to radio a superior, who I guess was the one to say that a photocopy was not good enough. Maybe the normal Mazonia IDNR patrols don't care about the forms, I have never been stopped before so I really don't know. This might just be a fluke, but did want to post this experience just so people know that some IDNR cops might care. When I go next, I'm going to grab a stack of forms so I can always have one when I go out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Years ago I went to the office and it was closed then too, and got the form from a box. The office is on Huston street just east of the intersection of 53. (Huston st runs east/west from 53 to about the midpoint of the cooling lake). From the Braidwood lake south ramp, exit west on county line road then turn right (north) on Kankakee rd (county road 9000E) The first left, about a mile up the road, will be Huston St. Take Huston for about a mile and the office will be on the left. It's troubling the trooper didn't know fossil collecting was permitted when it is posted in 6 inch letters at each entrance. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Thanks for sharing your experience, that sounds very unpleasant and totally unnecessary. The distinction between an original and copy of the permit/report is strange- the packet at the office is literally just photocopies/print-outs of the same form stapled together with information about the park, although it is printed double-sided with the permit on one side and the report on the back. I see @TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory mostly answered about directions to the office while I was typing this, but here is what I wrote: The office is in the Mazonia Unit of the park, to the west of Kankakee Road. It can be reached by taking Huston Rd, or by following signs for the Mazonia Unit from the entrance further south off Kankakee Rd- here is the park map from the IDNR website- the office is labeled as a "Check Station" on the legend: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Documents/MazoniaBraidwoodSiteMap.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 @deutscheben If the forms are just photocopies, then the issue was probably me saying that I didn’t get the form from the IDNR directly but from another collector. I didn’t think such a distinction was an issue, but from now on I will just grab forms from the station to be safe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 @connorp @deutscheben and @TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory thank you so much for the information. It's good to know this happened and to be somewhat prepared in case I get stopped. I don't think I will change what I'm doing, but I did want to stop at the office sometime so I'll do that on my next trip. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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