S263JUL29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending July 29, 2005

S.263 A bill to provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes.

BRIEF

The bill establishes criteria by which paleontologic artifacts can be removed from public land, how permits would be issued and establishes civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized removal of the artifacts.

“Over the past several years, there has been increasing discussion about the need to develop a coordinated policy for the disposition of fossils found on public lands. Federal agency officials, paleontologists and others have expressed concern that the lack of a clear policy for the treatment of fossil resources, and uncertainty in legislative authority, make it more difficult for Federal land managers to properly protect fossil resources.

“A 1988 Congressional Research Service report concluded that while specific statutes or executive actions may protect fossil resources in specific areas, and while generic land management laws permit Federal agencies to protect fossil resources, there are no laws that require the protection and regulation of these resources. The report also noted each agency has different land management laws, so there is often inconsistent administration of fossil resources among different agencies.

“The Senate Committee report accompanying the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (S. Rept. 105-227) directed the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with appropriate scientific, educational and commercial entities, to develop a report assessing the need for a unified Federal policy on the collection, storage, and preservation of fossils on public lands.

“In May 2000, the Secretary of the Interior issued a report to Congress (entitled Fossils on Federal & Indian Lands) setting forth several recommendations for the management of paleontological resources on Federal lands. Specifically, the report identified the need for agencies to conduct field inventories and monitoring of fossil resources, and to limit the collection of rare fossils to scientific and educational uses. The report also identified the need to strengthen civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized removal of fossils from Federal lands.

“S. 263 incorporates many of the recommendations from this report and establishes a comprehensive policy for protecting fossil resources on Federal lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior and National Forest System lands administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.” The committee report said.

Sponsor: Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (July 27, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: “CBO estimates that any budgetary impact of implementing the bill would be negligible.”