Rocks/Fossils - Leave no Trace?

[5thGenTexan 504]

Where does rock and fossil collecting fall within Leave No Trace?

Exhibit A:  

4. Leave What You Find

Allow others a sense of discovery, and preserve the past. Leave rocks, plants, animals, archaeological artifacts, and other objects as you find them. Examine but do not touch cultural or historical structures and artifacts. It may be illegal to remove artifacts.

 

Exhibit B:  

(5) Collect 10 different fossil plants or animals OR (with your counselor’s assistance) identify 15 different fossil plants or animals. Record in a notebook where you obtained (found, bought, traded) each one. Classify each specimen to the best of your ability, and explain how each one might have survived and obtained food. Tell what else you can learn from these fossils.  (Geology MB Handbook)

 

I majored in Geography, concentrating in Earth Science.  Not collecting rocks goes against my nature.  If it goes against LNT, then whatever, I won't do it in Scouting activities. However, we have a really good river bed site nearby known for shark teeth, other marine fossils, and arrow heads.  It would be a really fun Cub Scout outing.  However its really hard to not tell Cub Scout aged kids they can't pick up stuff

[qwazse 4349]

Excellent question. Obviously a lot of fossils are found because someone moved the rock that was covering them!

File under all things in moderation?

[walk in the woods 888]

13 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

Where does rock and fossil collecting fall within Leave No Trace?

Exhibit A:  

4. Leave What You Find

Allow others a sense of discovery, and preserve the past. Leave rocks, plants, animals, archaeological artifacts, and other objects as you find them. Examine but do not touch cultural or historical structures and artifacts. It may be illegal to remove artifacts.

 

Exhibit B:  

(5) Collect 10 different fossil plants or animals OR (with your counselor’s assistance) identify 15 different fossil plants or animals. Record in a notebook where you obtained (found, bought, traded) each one. Classify each specimen to the best of your ability, and explain how each one might have survived and obtained food. Tell what else you can learn from these fossils.  (Geology MB Handbook)

 

I majored in Geography, concentrating in Earth Science.  Not collecting rocks goes against my nature.  If it goes against LNT, then whatever, I won't do it in Scouting activities. However, we have a really good river bed site nearby known for shark teeth, other marine fossils, and arrow heads.  It would be a really fun Cub Scout outing.  However its really hard to not tell Cub Scout aged kids they can't pick up stuff

I suppose it depends.  I took my son to a local limestone quarry that held regular fossils days with the help of some local geologists.  Those were keepers because they were just going to get ground into gravel.  There's some state land in NE Illinois that allows fossil hunting.  If you're talking about private land I think it's up to the land owner to answer.  My farming family had interesting arrowhead collections.