The Bozeman Daily Chroniclepeter has a story about the 9th circuit court ruling that all fossils in Montana are minerals. The AAPS is working with Peter Larson and an attorney to file an Amicus Brief. The goal is to as the court for an en banc hearing by a larger panel of judges to get this decision overturned.
A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision reclassified fossils as minerals. Fossils now fall under the purview of Mineral Rights, taking their legal ownership from the land or property owner and placing them under the domain of the property's "Mineral Rights" holder.
This ruling applies to all fossils; vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. The drastic change in established law now puts academic and commercial paleontologist as well as the casual fossil collector and museum collections in great peril.
If this ruling stands, mineral right holders will be able to file lawsuits to take possession of any fossils collected on land that is privately held. Many museums are in jeopardy of losing important type specimens, and many wonderful fossil specimens that had been legally collected, prepared and sold could be seized and forfeited.
A court ruling like this can easily spill from Montana to rest of the states.
There are appeals to the decision being drafted, and AAPS, among other groups and museums want to fight this decision. AAPS has created a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to have an attorney produce and file an Amicus Brief. The goal being to ask the court for an en banc hearing by a larger panel of judges and get this decision overturned.
To read more about this and help donate to the cause to save fossils and preserve land owners rights, follow this link:
https://www.aaps.net/newsletter-index.html
