Wyoming Fossil Hunting

[TroyB]

Hi all, the wife and I will be in Wyoming and Kansas vacationing in mid August. Are there any good fossil hunting spots there, that we could stop at for a day or so?

Thanks for your time

TroyB

[Stonebreaker]

Where in Wyoming? Kemmerer is a start.

[Fruitbat]

Wyoming and Kansas are LOADED with great fossil-collecting areas! As Stonebreaker already asked...WHERE in Wyoming and Kansas? Are there any particular kinds of fossils you're especially interested in?

One thing to keep in mind as far as Wyoming is concerned, 48% of land in Wyoming is owned by the U.S. Government and is under the supervision of the BLM. Fossil collecting (invertebrates) is legal:

From a BLM guide:

On public lands, people may collect a reasonable

number of invertebrates [animals without backbones,

such as trilobites, ammonites, and brachiopods], plant

fossils, and petrified wood specimens for personal, noncommercial

use, without a permit.

HOWEVER:

Permits are required to collect fossil remains and traces

of animals with backbones (vertebrates). Vertebrate

fossils are fragile and complex; and permit applicants

must show a level of training and experience in order to

be approved. Because vertebrate fossils collected under

a permit belong to the people of the United States, the

specimens must be kept in an approved repository for

scientific study, display, and educational purposes, thus

ensuring that the materials will be available for future

study.

If you're going to collect on private land...be sure to check in with the land owner first. Many of them will permit you to have access (though some will refuse outright and others might charge you money). Pay-to-collect site like the ones around Kemmerer, Wyoming (famous for their Eocene fish fossils) are usually a good bet. Ulrich's, Warfield's and Charlie Nunn's have fee collecting which range from $55 - $75 per day per digger (yeah...that's a LOT of money, especially considering that you can only keep a limited number of fossils (varies between quarries) and that you have to give up any fossils considered to be 'rare'...like gars, stingrays, birds, mammals, etc. There may be other fee quarries but those are the ones I'm familar with. You do need some specialized collecting gear to split the rock layers to expose the fish. If you're in that area...don't forget to visit the Fossil Butte National Monument on Highway 30. It's worth the time if you want to see some nice material.

Hope this helps get you started.

-Joe

Edited July 21, 2010 by Fruitbat

[HeritageFossils]

I recommend the quarries around Kemmerer as well.

I went to Warfield's earlier this month and paid $75 for a 4 hour session. In that time I pulled out about 15-20 Diplo's and Knightia's, 2 medium sized phareodus (8-10"), 1 mioplosus and 1 large diplo. For my money that is totally worth it.

They let you keep all the common fish you find (all that I mentioned counted as common) rather than a limited number. Of course they claim all the rarer stuff but then again, its very unlikely for you to find something that rare.

- YvW

[Stonebreaker]

Wyoming and Kansas are LOADED with great fossil-collecting areas! As Stonebreaker already asked...WHERE in Wyoming and Kansas? Are there any particular kinds of fossils you're especially interested in?

One thing to keep in mind as far as Wyoming is concerned, 48% of land in Wyoming is owned by the U.S. Government and is under the supervision of the BLM. Fossil collecting (invertebrates) is legal:

From a BLM guide:

HOWEVER:

If you're going to collect on private land...be sure to check in with the land owner first. Many of them will permit you to have access (though some will refuse outright and others might charge you money). Pay-to-collect site like the ones around Kemmerer, Wyoming (famous for their Eocene fish fossils) are usually a good bet. Ulrich's, Warfield's and Charlie Nunn's have fee collecting which range from $55 - $75 per day per digger (yeah...that's a LOT of money, especially considering that you can only keep a limited number of fossils (varies between quarries) and that you have to give up any fossils considered to be 'rare'...like gars, stingrays, birds, mammals, etc. There may be other fee quarries but those are the ones I'm familar with. You do need some specialized collecting gear to split the rock layers to expose the fish. If you're in that area...don't forget to visit the Fossil Butte National Monument on Highway 30. It's worth the time if you want to see some nice material.

Hope this helps get you started.

-Joe

What special gear is required? (I will be going down soon)

[Fruitbat]

Stonebreaker...

Since you're going to have to split a lot of shale to find the fish, you're going to want to have tools designed for that task. If you can find one, Estwing makes a nice rock pick with a chisel end that is pretty good for splitting large slabs. If you can't find one of those then other chisels (sturdy but with as thin a blade as possible) can be used. I found that putty knives can come in handy too...but you want them to have a handle that is strong enough to be tapped on with a rock hammer. Oh...you'll want a rock hammer too (chuckle). Last time I was there, a friend of mine had a big metal bar with a flattened end that he used to pry large pieces from the rock wall. It worked pretty nicely for him.

Be sure to take along plenty of packing material to wrap your finds. I used thick layers of newspaper to protect the individual slabs. Some folks also use white glue to do in-the-field repairs.

Hope this helps,

-Joe

[jpc]

Wyoming is indeed crammed with fossils. The toughest part of the game out here is getting permission to dig, and knowing whose land you are on. And avoiding the BLM land if you want vertebrates. The combination of these two makes the money you pay at a fish quarry in Kemmerer even more valuable. I like Warfield's myself. There is also the Big Cedar Ridge Fossil Plant site near Worland. I'm not sure that is trhe name, but google the Worlnad BLM office and look for fossils in there. If oyu can get a good geology map of the state, the frontier Fm often has amnmonites, and is on BLM land (Ammonites are inverts, so OK to collect on BLM land).

A few long, thin, wide chisels are ideal at trhe fish quarries. Ask a metal shop to make you something ten inches long out of two inch wide steel abou 1/16 of an inch thick. Cut a piece of and sharpen it. It took my friend about five minutes to make me two, so it shouldn't cost too much.

I'll be out of town for a few weeks, so I may nor be checking in here if you need more info.

Edited July 24, 2010 by jpc

[OreRockOn]

If you're going to collect on private land...be sure to check in with the land owner first. Many of them will permit you to have access (though some will refuse outright and others might charge you money). Pay-to-collect site like the ones around Kemmerer, Wyoming (famous for their Eocene fish fossils) are usually a good bet. Ulrich's, Warfield's and Charlie Nunn's have fee collecting which range from $55 - $75 per day per digger (yeah...that's a LOT of money, especially considering that you can only keep a limited number of fossils (varies between quarries) and that you have to give up any fossils considered to be 'rare'...like gars, stingrays, birds, mammals, etc. There may be other fee quarries but those are the ones I'm familar with. You do need some specialized collecting gear to split the rock layers to expose the fish. If you're in that area...don't forget to visit the Fossil Butte National Monument on Highway 30. It's worth the time if you want to see some nice material.

-Joe

Just an update to the fossil quarries in the Kemmerer area: Charlie Nunn has started his own quarry and he doesn't allow any collecting there. His old quarry is sometimes collectible if you know the right people. I went with Wyoming Fossils wyomingfossils.com in June and they dig this quarry. Our group found some very nice fish over 2 days, I found several Mios, a very large perfect Diplo and two smallish Pharos. Warfield's new quarry is just over the hill and they have similar fish and daily rates. Ulrich's similarly doesn't allow collecting in their quarry anymore but you can split plates they bring down from the quarry for a fee, I don't know any more than that. You can occasionally get share digs (you split the fossils 50/50) with some of the commercial folks but you have to know someone, be an experienced digger, and commit to a week or so. Warfield's also have an 18" layer dig that is $$$ but the fish are fantastic and it's hard to get less than your fee, most people get fish worth way more than they paid.

Edited September 1, 2010 by OreRockOn

[jpc]

Well, TroyB, its past mid-August... Have you been and gone to WY and KS? Got any tales to tell? or fossils to show?

Edited September 2, 2010 by jpc

[MikeD]

I know he is back. I think we are still waiting on him to unpack.