http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills info@washingtonwatch.com http://www.pjdoland.com/chai/?v=0.1 http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_SN_320.html#39083 Amateurs and enthusiasts make virtually all major discoveries in paleontology. What is better for the fossils? To leave them in the earth and erode away as we wait in vain for an exponential increase in paleontologist willing to do the fieldwork… or for the thousands of individuals without graduate degrees to go and find the next tyrannosaur or tiktaalik specimen? It is inevitable that some specimens will be damaged, but not all fossils are as rare as the bill would have one believe. If a child found a fossil and their parent decided to take it to the local museum to donate it, then the child... parent... and museum staff who accepted the fossil would have to be imprisoned. This bill should be renamed the Paleontology Resources PENALTY Act. Sincerely, a concerned geology student...... 39083@http://www.washingtonwatch.com Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:43:01 EDT http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_SN_320.html#25911 This bill is unneeded and a bad idea. Education of our children regarding fossils and geology would be curtailed. Example: When I was young I was fascinated by an imprint found in shale. It not only stimulated my interest in geology, it caused a friend to also be curious. My interest continued; my friend got a master's degree in geology. The fossil was a dental dermal from a shark. This area is now on federal land. Most of the shale has eroded away. Bison bones are found in streams of Iowa. Are these to be prohibited from collecting by curious kids?... 25911@http://www.washingtonwatch.com Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:15:27 EST