Getting Permission from Landowners regarding Western Kansas

[JFPennsylvanian]

Hello all. I try and go fossil hunting as often as possible and I really want to get back out in the Niobrara chalk in western Kansas. I’ve only hunted out there one time on a state 4-H trip and it was the most fun I’ve ever had. However I do know that most of, if not all of the land the chalk is on is owned privately. I’m not sure the best way to get in contact with landowners about asking permission. If I lived closer I would just drive out there and ask around, but I live in eastern Kansas so it is a minimum 5-6 hour drive out there. Is there any reliable way of figuring out who owns land and the best way to ask them? Thanks for any and all help in advance.

[JBkansas]

We stopped at Castle Rock on the way to CO, no permission needed. Supposedly there are shark teeth and mosasaur there but we mainly found thousands of giant clam shells with encrusted oysters. You may have better luck, my assistants are 4 and 1yo.

 

Be careful following the trails if you don't have an off-road vehicle though.

 

I have heard monument rock also has a "open to fossil hunting" policy but we didn't stop there so I can't confirm their signage.

 

Monument rock: https://thenaturalhistorian.com/2016/09/22/remnants-of-a-shallow-sea-a-visit-to-monument-rocks-in-kansas/

Edited October 29, 2022 by JBkansas

[JBkansas]

You should be able to see land ownership/contact info through county property tax maps.

Edited October 29, 2022 by JBkansas

[JFPennsylvanian]

On 10/29/2022 at 4:22 PM, JBkansas said:

We stopped at Castle Rock on the way to CO, no permission needed. Supposedly there are shark teeth and mosasaur there but we mainly found thousands of giant clam shells with encrusted oysters. You may have better luck, my assistants are 4 and 1yo.

 

Be careful following the trails if you don't have an off-road vehicle though.

 

I have heard monument rock also has a "open to fossil hunting" policy but we didn't stop there so I can't confirm their signage.

 

Monument rock: https://thenaturalhistorian.com/2016/09/22/remnants-of-a-shallow-sea-a-visit-to-monument-rocks-in-kansas/

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured castle rock and monument rock might not hold much considering how many people have visited them (Still on my bucket list of places to go though). I’m planning on doing some more digging on the ownership maps, here’s to hoping that leads somewhere.

[JBkansas]

1 hour ago, JFPennsylvanian said:

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured castle rock and monument rock might not hold much considering how many people have visited them (Still on my bucket list of places to go though). I’m planning on doing some more digging on the ownership maps, here’s to hoping that leads somewhere.

If you're okay with oyster encrusted giant clams, there is literally tons of material at Castle Rock.

 

Once you find exposures that look promising, you can probably locate the property owner through the county property tax maps. I'm guessing cold calling them will probably lead to a lot of rejections though.

Edited November 2, 2022 by JBkansas

[JBkansas]

Here's the Gove county map: https://www.kansasgis.org/orka/intro.cfm?countyName=Gove

[SomethingIsFishy]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:55 PM, JFPennsylvanian said:

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured castle rock and monument rock might not hold much considering how many people have visited them (Still on my bucket list of places to go though). I’m planning on doing some more digging on the ownership maps, here’s to hoping that leads somewhere.

Although they are visited a lot, I still managed to found a xiphactinus tooth fragment at monument rocks so finding cool stuff there isn't completely out of the picture. If you want to find cool stuff there, go further away from the  monument rocks but still stay on they plot of land that they are on (you don't want to get in trouble for going onto someone else's land)

[KansasFossilHunter]

3 hours ago, SomethingIsFishy said:

Although they are visited a lot, I still managed to found a xiphactinus tooth fragment at monument rocks so finding cool stuff there isn't completely out of the picture. If you want to find cool stuff there, go further away from the  monument rocks but still stay on they plot of land that they are on (you don't want to get in trouble for going onto someone else's land)

 

No, please do not leave the immediate area of the monuments. This is an active ranch and the owners do not want visitors wondering around (even if it is still the same piece of property). Enjoy the scenery, take pictures and enjoy the day but do not climb the rocks, do not leave established roads, and do not dig or break rocks looking for fossils. 

 

[SomethingIsFishy]

I was just talking about looking by the rocks furthest away from the main ones

 

[jpc]

It is a very good idea to know exactly whose land you are on in places like this.  I don’t know if there are fences separating the aforementioned public places from the neighboring private land, and often there isn’t, but it us our respondibility to NOT trespass.

[SomethingIsFishy]

Yeah, some people will get very mad if you get trespass to look for fossils in that part of kansas.

[jpc]

11 hours ago, SomethingIsFishy said:

Yeah, some people will get very mad if you get trespass to look for fossils in that part of kansas.

I would exand it from “that part of kansas” to the western usa and beyond

[SomethingIsFishy]

Yeah, that's true. Lol