Amateur Fossil Collectors are Essential to Paleontology Kerste Milik   “Someone needs to get the fossils out of the ground or off the beach. There are far too many fossils out there for professional paleontologists to salvage and they are continuously being exposed,” said Boessenecker. This exposure leads to fossils being eroded and lost to science, unless amateurs continue to collect. “If we don't collect the fossils, and we're rude or dismissive or simply not proactive about