Encounters with Authorities?

[alexr]

I was wondering if legal incidents are a common thing in paleontology, how frequently do you guys hear about amateur paleontologists having an encounter with the authorities?

Regards

Alex 

[Fossildude19]

I've been asked to move along a couple of times in my career, (police on state highways) but much of this can be avoided by gaining permission from the land owner to hunt on the land. 

Being respectful, courteous, and not making a mess, or doing property damage are all ethics that should be followed, always.

 

The issues tend to arise when someone takes something from government land, state parks where hunting is not allowed, or if trespassing on other's property. 

 

Know who's land you are on, know the boundaries, and get permission in advance. 

This advice will keep you in the clear. 

 

[Ptychodus04]

I have been questioned a few times by police as to my activities in the field. Every time they are just making sure nothing illegal is going on.

 

The best time was while we were excavating the type specimen of Pentanogmius fritschi and the police showed up at 12:00 AM with hands on guns wanting to know exactly what the **** we were doing in a creek in the middle of the night with floodlights. Once I explained, they were very interested in the event and called it in over their radio so no other officers would drive by and harass us.

 

I've even been told about a new fossil site by a police officer who stopped to check on us once. Of course, I'm collecting on public land which is open to collecting in Texas. Know the laws of the area you want to collect, follow the laws, get permission/permits, you will have no issues.

[JarrodB]

I was stopped by a game warden who thought I was hunting live animals lol. He was very nice when I showed him the fossils I was collecting. 

[Miocene_Mason]

Anyone who has been to Carbondale can note that it's a bit shifty, especially the apartment houses outside the site for fossil hunting. I was waiting with finds next to the parking lot near the buildings next to a dumpster ( waiting for my ride) with the coally dirt all over my arms and a hammer (and chisel but that wasn't visible) at my side and some large rocks. This prompted a police officer come  to have a word with me. Turned out there was a report of a fire nearby, so he left on his way after explaining that I was fossil hunting.

[minnbuckeye]

There is a road cut I love to hunt when the weather is cold. The south facing cliff warms up quickly with a sunny day. This side of the road has no parking so the truck is left on the south (cold) side. Unfortunately, the north side has a large wall built to prevent rock slides from going onto the road. Hence, I am not very visible behind this cement structure. When a local officer drives by, on go the lights and they pull over to check out the situation with the empty vehicle. The officers never see me, so I have to approach them. They seem relieved that I am "just" fossil hunting. Everyone is interested in my finds. One officer in particular recognizes my pickup now and will stop to see how I am doing, either here or other spots in the area. He has actually picked up the hobby himself now!!

[thelivingdead531]

I love all of these stories of "brushes with the law"! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

When I was doing my 'A' levels we went on a fossil collecting day trip to Dorset. 

We stopped in one village and as i was wandering around alone, I noticed a nice belemnite in a block of yellow Jurassic limestone. But it was in the wall of a house. Quickly, i hammered it out and scarpered up the lane. A while later the local police car pulled up beside me and i was invited to accompany the officer to the local nick. I was terrified (and it served me right), mostly because I thought my teacher, whom i admired and respected would kill me and my parents might be told. 

In the tiny police station i discovered my teacher, who had been apprehended for stealing a sign from a disused railway line (he was a train enthusiast) and was caught while encouraging other students to strap it to the roof of the minibus. We were not charged but asked politely to go and not return to the town. 

I still have the belemnite.  

But was always more respectful in the future.

 

[minnbuckeye]

I might as well add a second story: Four years ago when I first started to look at the local rock structures, I discovered a fossiliferous  cut on a limited access highway. An officer stopped and kindly asked me to leave as stopping on this type of highway is not allowed. I had collected more than a handful of specimens and couldn't carry them to the car. A week later as we were traveling past this spot again, my spouse flipped out when I started slowing down for the purpose of grabbing those specimens left behind. My famous quote that she reminds me of frequently  was "it will only take a minute. I won't get stopped. "  Well, I hadn't taken 10 steps from the vehicle when the lights came on. I'm not sure what was brighter, the lights of the squad car or my wife's red face. Again, the officer was nice in his presentation to me. To make a long story short, there is a pile of fossils sitting on the ground in Rochester, MN waiting for someone to grab. It won't be me!! So if anyone wants them, I will post the coordinates, but will not pay your ticket.

[Herb]

Most of the time if you are collecting somewhere you shouldn't be the police will politely ask you to leave, once

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I often call the authorities ahead of a trip to ascertain legality.  But I have been questioned in the field by game wardens, cops, and once, a homicide detective.  Usually with a short discourse on local geology or taxonomic filibuster, their stare goes blank and they can’t get away fast enough.  The worst encounters in my opinion are not with authorities, but with private landowners who feel they have absolute dominion over an adjacent state controlled waterway.  Good times!

[Wrangellian]

2 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

I might as well add a second story: Four years ago when I first started to look at the local rock structures, I discovered a fossiliferous  cut on a limited access highway. An officer stopped and kindly asked me to leave as stopping on this type of highway is not allowed. I had collected more than a handful of specimens and couldn't carry them to the car. A week later as we were traveling past this spot again, my spouse flipped out when I started slowing down for the purpose of grabbing those specimens left behind. My famous quote that she reminds me of frequently  was "it will only take a minute. I won't get stopped. "  Well, I hadn't taken 10 steps from the vehicle when the lights came on. I'm not sure what was brighter, the lights of the squad car or my wife's red face. Again, the officer was nice in his presentation to me. To make a long story short, there is a pile of fossils sitting on the ground in Rochester, MN waiting for someone to grab. It won't be me!! So if anyone wants them, I will post the coordinates, but will not pay your ticket.

Ha! Was it the same officer?

You must get the impression they're hiding there, waiting for people to stop.

1 hour ago, Herb said:

Most of the time if you are collecting somewhere you shouldn't be the police will politely ask you to leave, once

Sometimes twice, apparently

5 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

There is a road cut I love to hunt when the weather is cold. The south facing cliff warms up quickly with a sunny day. This side of the road has no parking so the truck is left on the south (cold) side. Unfortunately, the north side has a large wall built to prevent rock slides from going onto the road. Hence, I am not very visible behind this cement structure. When a local officer drives by, on go the lights and they pull over to check out the situation with the empty vehicle. The officers never see me, so I have to approach them. They seem relieved that I am "just" fossil hunting. Everyone is interested in my finds. One officer in particular recognizes my pickup now and will stop to see how I am doing, either here or other spots in the area. He has actually picked up the hobby himself now!!

This one is nice to hear!

[Fruitbat]

My experiences with the local gendarmes has been about the same as everybody else's (curious police officers and highway patrol troopers wanting to know what I was doing).  I have had a couple of experiences that varied slightly.  One occurred along a road near Jacksboro, Texas when I had my daughter (who was about 10 at the time) with me and she REALLY had to go to the bathroom so I told her to hop the fence and take care of her business.  She wasn't about to do it standing next to the road with cars whizzing by!  Of course...a member of the local constabulary happened by just as my daughter was coming back over the fence with an obvious look of relief.  He proceeded to harangue both of us about the fact that she was trespassing on private property but he finally listened to reason and let us off with a "warning".

 

The other time was a bit more serious...but the outcome was fine.  I was doing a little collecting on some private property near Toadstool Park in northwestern Nebraska (with the owner's permission, of course.  That was in the days when the locals didn't charge an arm and a leg to collect on their property!) when I noticed a light airplane tracing lazy circles overhead.  I didn't think much more of it until I was suddenly confronted by a couple of armed BLM law-enforcement types on horseback.  They were convinced that I was hunting on BLM land and it took me about an hour and a couple of good maps to convince them that I was on private property.  They finally left with looks of disappointment evident on their faces.  I'm sure they were looking forward to dragging me to the local calaboose!  Oh...and they took the plane with them!

 

-Joe

[flyg]

Many collectors in coastal South Carolina do not know that the state Underwater Antiquities Act requires anyone collecting in state waters to have a Hobby Diver license, even if they are surface collecting. This summer I was checked for this license by state DNR while putting in with my kayak at a remote location. The officer was openly surprised when I produced one and said it was the "second one I've ever seen" and I was one of the "rare ones". I got the idea that I would not have received a ticket had I lacked the license. This highlights that it's a good idea for anyone that collects in the water in SC to look into this, since apparently lots of us are not properly licensed.

 

G