Bozeman, Montana

A proposed package of new federal laws to protect palaeontological specimens on federal land and improve the management of palaeontology resources across the United States was announced last week.

The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act was introduced in the House of Representatives on 2 October. It has already been backed by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), which held its annual meeting in Bozeman, Montana, last week, and several federal agencies.

The act would increase the criminal penalties for stealing palaeontological specimens from federal land, unify federal policies for protecting and managing palaeontological resources, and better coordinate the recording of palaeontological discoveries.

“This bill will ensure that fossils will not be removed from the public domain, but are preserved for the enjoyment and education of all Americans for all time,” says Richard Stucky, president of the SVP and head of palaeontology at the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Colorado.

There are already laws against the unauthorized removal of palaeontological specimens. But the act would create a more uniform statute and raise the profile of protection efforts. It also requires that specimens are collected by qualified researchers with appropriate permits, who will then deposit the specimens in public institutions.

The act is modelled on the Archeological Resources Protection Act, enacted in 1979 to control looting and improve studies of Native American sites.

The new act was introduced by Representative James McGovern (Democrat, Massachusetts) and five other members, both Democrat and Republican. “I strongly believe we need a more comprehensive and thoughtful approach towards managing these public resources — an approach based on science not profit,” says McGovern.

Palaeontologists hope the act will control the black market in looted palaeontological specimens. The illicit international fossil market was highlighted by a recent case in which dealers are charged with stealing a near-complete Allosaurus skeleton a decade ago from federal land in Utah.