boswachter Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Hi all, A few times now I have found fossils in Manitoba (posted a few times here for ID as well). My question here is the following: Is it legal to bring home fossils that can be found on beaches? Mine were found in an area used to access a winter road. That road is no longer in use but quite a large selection of them can be found as loose rocks on that same beach. If one doesn't take them home, they will be destroyed over time. I'm not trying to take the discussion to whether it is better for the fossils or not, simply to see if it is legal to take them. A second question is : Is there a list of protected sites in Manitoba, and if so, where can I find it? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Questions of legality are much better answered by the governing body of the area. The thing to do would be to contact your local government, and see if they can steer you in the right direction of who to ask. Also, a local museum might be able to help you in this query. This is probably a good place to start. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boswachter Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 Thanks, I went there already, but the sites themselves are not in there. It speaks of "heritage sites" but not of the designates sites themselves. Which brings me no closer to a solution for now. Personally I don't think "they" will come after me for picking up a rock, but I don't like the idea of inadvertently destroying a site. Bringing fossils back from a dinosaur site is of course a different matter, poaching is not a good thing. Thanks for the answer anyway, I'll go and hunt for this. It might be useful on this forum as well, IF I find something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 5 minutes ago, boswachter said: Thanks, I went there already, but the sites themselves are not in there. It speaks of "heritage sites" but not of the designates sites themselves. Which brings me no closer to a solution for now. Personally I don't think "they" will come after me for picking up a rock, but I don't like the idea of inadvertently destroying a site. Bringing fossils back from a dinosaur site is of course a different matter, poaching is not a good thing. Thanks for the answer anyway, I'll go and hunt for this. It might be useful on this forum as well, IF I find something... This is an old list of fossil sites in Manitoba. Information is very old, ... like, ... 1890's old! It is a good place to begin research of sites from. Also, if there is a ministry of mining/geology or something similar, you may check in with them. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 People involved in economic geology tend to shy away from fossil collectors. You don't want people cluttering up your favourite SEDEX deposit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 At least back when I lived in Winnipeg (~1976-1977) I was never aware of any "protected sites". You could go to Stony Mountain, the quarry at Garson, or any number of localities described in various Manitoba Dept of Mines and Mineral Resources publications (including field guides) and collect. Of course parks were off limits. I think the Manitoba Museum folks would be the best ones to ask about the present day situation. My "best guess" (not a legal opinion) is that only a few sites are specifically protected, such as active research sites, and there may be restrictions on vertebrate fossils such as around Morden, but those may be on privately owned Museum property. The sort of fossils you have shown on the Forum in the past, such as Red River Formation nautiloids and snails, are very common. It's hard for me to imagine any justification for prohibiting their collection. But once again the paleontologists at the Manitoba Museum would be the best folks to ask. They seem friendly enough (as far as I can guess from their blog) and it might be good for you to develop a relationship with them, they could help with identifications and tell you if your finds are important. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boswachter Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 Thanks all, I'll take a peek at the Manitoba Museum and see what they have to say about it. I never suspected the place to be "protected" it's the start of the winter road from Pinedock to the Bloodvein, now disused. If it had been a significant fossil area it would have said so on a sign somewhere. At least that would have been my reasoning. Vertebrates would a very different issue, should I find one, the Museum would be the first to be notified and no location would be shared online... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 This issue of the Alberta Paleontological Society Bulletin has a discussion of Manitoba's Heritage Act laws covering fossil hunting. The "condensed version": the law can be read to forbid not only collecting but even just looking for any archaeological object, fossil (invertebrate, vertebrate, or plant), or even rocks (any rocks, not just minerals) without a permit. The author's interpretation (which I think is probably right) is that the law is written to outlaw everything (including even looking for things, and maybe thinking about looking for things) but only egregious violators would actually be prosecuted. The example given is, a 5 year old child picking up a pretty rock (just the act of picking it up) is technically in violation, but they would never be prosecuted. Someone who takes a bulldozer to a level a hill to collect trilobites probably would be prosecuted. I'd suggest the museum folks might be the best ones to offer guidance. The law initially came into effect in 1985 so I don't have to hide my collection of Manitoba Paleozoic brachiopods, corals, and nautiloids in a secret crawl space under the basement. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 3 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: or even rocks (any rocks, not just minerals) with a permit. I think You mean "without a permit". That is really a draconian law, glad I do not live there! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Oops! Without a permit it is. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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