onemanlydork Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 We are planning a vacation in June to the Badlands area in South Dakota. I am wanting to do a fossil dig. Somewhere that is not expensive or and would like to keep what I find. Is this just a pipe dream? Where do I start? I am studying to be a middle and high school teacher in Kansas. I have always love fossils. I even have a T-Rex skeleton tattoo! I did contact the Badlands Park and they said you can keep up to 25 lbs as long as it is not a vertebrate. Please help! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 http://www.paleoadventures.com/dinosaur-dig-site-tours.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abctriplets Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 http://www.dailydinosaurdigs.com/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onemanlydork Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 41 minutes ago, abctriplets said: http://www.dailydinosaurdigs.com/index.html Have you been there? If so what can you tell me about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abctriplets Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I'll let you know at the end of July. I've booked a day at both places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onemanlydork Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 I am looking at going in June. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Well then, you can tell her about it, and us too!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 1 hour ago, onemanlydork said: Have you been there? If so what can you tell me about it? I have a friend that goes every year. He's brought home a nice collection of Triceratops and Edmontosaurus fossils. He said the people are really nice who run it. They will not allow you to keep anything mammal or carnivore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 onemanlydork...you didn't say whether you were interested in Cretaceous material from the various formations of that age (dinosaurs, ammonites, etc.) or Eocene/Oligocene White River badlands material (mammals). The problem with collecting in Badlands National Park is that almost everything that you find will be a mammal (vertebrate) and thus not collectible. -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Actually the problem with collecting in Badlands National Park is that you go to jail. It is totally illegal to collect ANY fossils and rocks in ALL national parks in the USA. I don't know who you talked to there, but they blew it big time. There is a lot of National Grasslands around the park that is also loaded with White River fossils, but it is also illegal to collect them there. You have to find private land and get the owner's permission. And this is not easy. I would steer you towards the dino digs the other guys mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 That's why you always seem to hear "obtained on private land with permission" when seeing what people have found from that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abctriplets Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 I thought that sounded off.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 1 hour ago, jpc said: Actually the problem with collecting in Badlands National Park is that you go to jail. It is totally illegal to collect ANY fossils and rocks in ALL national parks in the USA. I don't know who you talked to there, but they blew it big time. There is a lot of National Grasslands around the park that is also loaded with White River fossils, but it is also illegal to collect them there. You have to find private land and get the owner's permission. And this is not easy. I would steer you towards the dino digs the other guys mentioned. Thats good advice. Also, if one hasn't collected in a badland area, its always a positive to go out on an organized field trip to get a sense of where and what to look for. My own experience is that finding vertebrate fossils in various ages of badlands takes the same basic know-how. Later you may find it fun to walk around Badlands National Park and look for fossils even if you can't collect. If you walk in a ways, there are isolated teeth, small jaw sections, etc. You can't collect them but the experience is rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carcharodontosaurus Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 3 hours ago, jpc said: Actually the problem with collecting in Badlands National Park is that you go to jail. It is totally illegal to collect ANY fossils and rocks in ALL national parks in the USA. I don't know who you talked to there, but they blew it big time. There is a lot of National Grasslands around the park that is also loaded with White River fossils, but it is also illegal to collect them there. You have to find private land and get the owner's permission. And this is not easy. I would steer you towards the dino digs the other guys mentioned. Agreed. If the guy who told you it's OK to collect anything (fossils, rocks, bones, animals, plants, anything) from a national park is an actual employee, then he should be fired ASAP before someone gets into legal trouble for being misinformed. I haven't been (I do want to, though), but if I were to go on a badlands dig it would be with Paleoadventures. They allow you to keep common fossils and if you want to you can buy "big" stuff like tyrannosaur teeth and complete bones from them for a price. Rare specimens are reserved for museums, which is good when it comes to ethics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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