Green River Collecting

[oldtimer]

I will be going to Utah in a few weeks.  I will be spending about a month there and will have time to get out and fossil hunt. 

Are there areas of the Green River Formation that are open to fossil collection?

[MarleysGh0st]

You're going in December-January?

 

There are commercial quarries near Kemmerer, Wyoming that are open to the public.  I've been to both the American Fossil quarry and Warfield Fossils quarry.  There may be some down in Utah, as well.  But, unfortunately, I think you're going to find all of them are closed for the season.

[oldtimer]

I ill be there in January and February.  I know it may be cold and am not sure what altitude these places are at.  Alt.= snow,

I will be looking for places to go.  I will be driving from Oklahoma through Colorado on I-70 and up I-15 to Salt Lake. 

Does anyone know of places to stop at and dig around some?

 

[RJB]

I cant see the possibility of any public fossil sites open in Jan/Feb.  Good luck though

 

RB

[ynot]

The fossil farm  (U-dig fossils) in the House range of western Utah may be closed that time of year, but there is a lot of diggable area around that claim. Aside from the Antelope springs area the rest of the house range has some good fossils as well.

I have not been there during that time of year so do not know what the road conditions will be. (Muddy road, snow on grown?)

Much of the mountains east and northeast of Salt lake city are sedimentary, but will probably have snow on them.

 

Good luck.

Tony

[ynot]

PS Maybe @UtahFossilHunter or @Fossil-Hound can give some ideas.

[Fossil-Hound]

@oldtimer I'm afraid that the GRF is mainly bound to Wyoming. You might get lucky and find some things on the Utah to Wyoming border, but even if you found a fish you wouldn't be able to keep it. Utah law prohibits keeping any vertebrate based fossils, hence the reason for invertebrate collection. Here's an image of the GRF range:

 

 

Some more information from the same sight:

 

http://geology.com/articles/green-river-fossils/

 

Technically you can collect vertebrate fossils only if you have a permit, so if you find a nice Diplomystus on the UT/WY border sadly you wouldn't be able to take it home without breaking the law. In WY you can collect from the Kemmerer area and there are pay to dig sites there. Here's some more information on UT:

 

https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/if-you-find-a-fossil/

[Uncle Siphuncle]

You can find insects, leaves and even bird feathers in the GRF of UT, but winter conditions may shut you out.  Commercials generally only collect May-Sept then prep the rest of the time.

[oldtimer]

Thank you for the links and advise @Fossil-Hound.  So is it ok to keep fossils found in Wyoming?  Vertebrates/invertebrates,  I am looking for places to go where I can look for, find and dig fossils and of course bring them home.  I do not want to break any laws. As mentioned most if not all pay to dig sites are closed.  I do travel to Salt Lake in the warm seasons too.

[FossilDAWG]

I'm pretty sure it is NOT OK to collect vertebrate fossils in Kansas, except from commercial quarries that have a license from the state.  When I was at Ulrich's quarry near Fossil Butte National Monument (several years ago) I noticed a couple of state trooper vehicles in the parking lot, then I noticed the troopers had a guy in handcuffs.  I made a comment to one of the quarry guides, who told me the guy was being arrested for illegally collecting on state land.  Apparently the state has a Cessna and they fly around looking for suspicious vehicles in the back country, and dispatch state troopers to check things out.  The guy who was under arrest was found with a bunch of fish fossils in his car but no receipts or records to show he had been digging at a state-licensed quarry.  As I recall, the potential penalty the guy was facing was confiscation of his vehicle, a year in jail, and a substantial fine (tens of thousands of dollars).  I don't know what the current state of the law is regarding penalties, but for sure collecting vertebrate fossils from state or federal land is illegal and if you get caught you won't enjoy the experience.

 

Unfortunately that leaves commercial quarries, and they will all be closed for the winter.

 

If you go out hunting for invertebrate fossils, be sure people know where you will be and when you will return.  Conditions can change rapidly and you can easily find yourself trapped by impassible roads or severe weather, which can become fatal if no-one knows you are missing.  Mid-winter really is not fossil hunting season in that part of the world.

 

Don

[Fossil-Hound]

13 hours ago, oldtimer said:

Thank you for the links and advise @Fossil-Hound.  So is it ok to keep fossils found in Wyoming?  Vertebrates/invertebrates,  I am looking for places to go where I can look for, find and dig fossils and of course bring them home.  I do not want to break any laws. As mentioned most if not all pay to dig sites are closed.  I do travel to Salt Lake in the warm seasons too.

In WY it’s alright as long as you’re on public land and that could be a challenge. I’d stick to the pay to dig sites. They are all closed for the winter.

[FossilDAWG]

5 hours ago, Fossil-Hound said:

In WY it’s alright as long as you’re on public land ...

Can you clarify this? Public land includes federal land (BLM, Forest Service, as well as National Park Service) and state lands.  I am absolutely certain that collecting vertebrate fossils without a permit (which hobby collectors cannot obtain) is illegal on federal land, and I'm 99% certain it is illegal on state land as well.  Since oldtimer asked about the Green River Formation I will take the liberty of assuming he is interested in fish or other vertebrates.  Collecting invertebrates and plants is generally legal, though limited in amounts you can take, on BLM and Forest Service land, but it is illegal on National Park Service land.

 

Don

[oldtimer]

Thanks for the info.  I do know it is illegal to take anything from a National park.  That is off limits for sure.  I know that you can collect from the BLM and Forest Service land and that they need to be invertebrates. I know that the pay sites will be closed and yes I was looking to find fish fossils and other vertebrates if I come across them. I do understand that on private property with permission vertebrates can be collected. I asked about the Green River formation as this is comprised of a large area of 3 to 4 States.  I was not just looking for pay sites but for places I could go and collect without paying and still have a chance of finding things.  I am interested in all types of fossils.  You all know how it is.  Anything that we find that has not seen the light of day or the light of the moon for millions of years is way cool.  So to clarify I am looking for tips on places that may be productive, that are legal to collect, are not a pay sites, and that may be accessible in the winter.  I will be driving with time on my hands so I can stop along the way to collect.  I am looking to find things that I can collect, prep and then trade for different fossils.  I will be driving through Kansas, Colorado and into Utah.  I will also be driving down to Arizona going through Nevada and hope I can make it to the Tuscan show.  I also plan to spend some time in California too.    

[Fossil-Hound]

1 hour ago, FossilDAWG said:

Can you clarify this? Public land includes federal land (BLM, Forest Service, as well as National Park Service) and state lands.  I am absolutely certain that collecting vertebrate fossils without a permit (which hobby collectors cannot obtain) is illegal on federal land, and I'm 99% certain it is illegal on state land as well.  Since oldtimer asked about the Green River Formation I will take the liberty of assuming he is interested in fish or other vertebrates.  Collecting invertebrates and plants is generally legal, though limited in amounts you can take, on BLM and Forest Service land, but it is illegal on National Park Service land.

 

Don

I stand corrected. He’ll need to find some rancher and throw him a $20. ;-)

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I’ve been to Kemmerer too early in May before, and even though I got into the quarry, the exposures were still frozen, making digging rather inefficient and impractical.

[FossilDAWG]

1 hour ago, Fossil-Hound said:

I stand corrected. He’ll need to find some rancher and throw him a $20. ;-)

No problem.  Lots of people read these threads (the forum has many members who seem to just lurk but not post, and many more unregistered "guests") so I just don't want to leave anyone with the impression that they can go to Kansas and collect fish or other vertebrates anywhere on public land.  They might end up getting an unpleasant and expensive lesson!  Unfortunately the state of the law demands that we be specific regarding vertebrates vs invertebrates and collecting rules.

 

Don

[jpc]

10 hours ago, Fossil-Hound said:

In WY it’s alright as long as you’re on public land and that could be a challenge. I’d stick to the pay to dig sites. They are all closed for the winter.

 It is NOT legal to collect on public lands in Wyoming.  Certainly not Green River Fm fishes.  Inverts , yes on BLM lands, but not on state lands.  Then it must be for personal collecting, not selling, or even trading.  Trust me, I am well versed in these things.  And, yes, on private land, you need permission of the landowner, as is the case anywhere in the USA.  

Besides the whole state will be covered in snow in Jan/Feb.  Especially the fish quarries at 7000 feet.  They get snow there from Sept to May.    

The Green River Fm at Douglas Pass will also be snowed in, but Bonanza might be available.... anyone here ever try Bonanza in the winter?  These latter two sites are leaves and insects.   

[Sagebrush Steve]

If you are driving through Nevada, depending on how you go you might want to stop at the Oak Springs Trilobite Site outside of Caliente.  I went there in September and had some success digging Olenellus trilobite cephalons. It is free to dig but you are on your own, you will probably be the only one there.  Not sure what the weather will be like in winter, though.  I wrote about my trip in this post:

 

 

[oldtimer]

Thanks Steve.  I will have to check it out.  Personally when I travel by car unless I am in a hurry, I love to stop places and explore and now the fossil bug has me.

So now I am looking for places to stop, get out and take a hike, explore and hopefully find some new to me fossils.

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

January and February are crappy times to go fossil hunting up north near Salt Lake as any dirt roads leading out are slick and any close by areas are under two feet of snow. If you're going to St. George it may be possible. Funny story, I have tried to go out to the west just north of Delta in February this year. I caked my SUV in mud and almost got stuck. Had the old girl roaring for 2 miles all the way to the pavement to get us out. Thank goodness for 4WD. Message me for places I'd suggest.

Edited December 22, 2017 by UtahFossilHunter
Spelling errors

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

On 12/17/2017 at 8:01 AM, ynot said:

The fossil farm  (U-dig fossils) in the House range of western Utah may be closed that time of year, but there is a lot of diggable area around that claim. Aside from the Antelope springs area the rest of the house range has some good fossils as well.

I have not been there during that time of year so do not know what the road conditions will be. (Muddy road, snow on grown?)

Much of the mountains east and northeast of Salt lake city are sedimentary, but will probably have snow on them.

 

Good luck.

Tony

It's closed until late March. Conditions are atrocious if you don't enjoy muddying your car up. The trilobite quarries are most likely under snow as they're higher up then Salt Lake and they've got snow. The mountains just got one of the first major snow falls this year. Great time to take up skiing or snowboarding.