RULES AND REGULATIONS BOARD OF LAND COMMISSIONERS

Chapter 11

State Lands Exclusive Commercial And Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permits

  Section 1. Authority

  (a) The authority for these rules is based on W.S. 36-2-107. The Board is solely responsible for interpretation of these rules.

  Section 2. Ownership of Fossils

  (a) All fossils and paleontological deposits on state lands are the property of the State of Wyo- ming and removal of specimens from these lands shall not be allowed unless authorized by the Board of Land Commissioners.

  Section 3. Definitions

  (a) “Board” means the Board of Land Commissioners.

  (b) “Casual or Recreational Fossil Collecting” means the non-commercial collection of invertebrate fossils, which is limited to when they occur as surface litter and do not require any excavation for removal. Such collecting does not require a permit, and is subject to Chapter 13 of these rules.

  (c) “Director” means the Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.

  (d) “Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal Permit” means a permit issued by the Board to an applicant pursuant to collection of specimens for sale to others.

  (e) “Fossil” for the purpose of these rules means any remains, trace or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in rock or in unconsolidated sediments, excluding fossil fuels and lime- stones or other calcareous rocks comprised of invertebrate fossils.

  (f) “Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permit” means a permit issued by the Board to an applicant pursuant to collection of specimens for the purposes of scientific display, research and educa- tion, and not for resale.

  (g) “Office” means the Office of State Lands and Investments.

  (h) “State Lands” means all subsurface resource lands under the jurisdiction of the Board of Land Commissioners.

  Section 4. General

  (a) Exclusive Commercial and Non-exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permits may be is- sued on state lands with the approval of the Board. The terms of these permits shall cover the conditioned removal of all fossil forms with the exclusion of dinosaur and all other vertebrate fossils not specifically named in these rules and the Board’s permit form, for which no commercial permit is obtainable. Permits shall be of five (5) years duration. Permits may be renewed upon application, for successive five (5) year periods, on the permit form then in effect. Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal Permits may not exceed ten (10) acres in size, but the calculation of this acreage shall not include access roads into a permit.  Approval of renewals of ongoing Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal Permits will not be withheld so long as the permits are in good standing.

  Section 5. Fossil Permit Application Fee and Annual Minimum Royalty for Exclusive Commer- cial Removal Permits.

  (a) Applications for Exclusive Commercial and Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Per- mits must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee pursuant to Chapter 17 of these rules and for commercial permits, the first year’s minimum annual royalty of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).  Thereafter, for the remaining term of any commercial permit, a minimum annual royalty of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) is due on or before the permit anniversary date (issue date) of each year, and until the expiration or cancellation of the permit. No minimum annual royalty is required under a Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permit.

  Section 6. Ownership and Sale of Specimens Recovered Under Permit

  (a) For the purposes of an Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal Permit, specimens of the following fish genera are deemed common and approved for sale without review or royalty by the Office or its agent: Knightia, Diplomystus, Priscacara, Phareodus, Mioplosus, Notogoneus and Amphiplaga. Addi- tionally, common specimens of gastropods, bivalves, coprolites and plant fossils, as illustrated in the Geo- logical Survey of Wyoming’s Bulletin 63 (1984 Edition) are approved for sale without review or royalty.  Specimens of gars, rays, bowfins and paddlefish are approved for sale without review, however, these specimens are subject to Section 7 - Commercial Fossil Permit Royalties.

  (b) All specimens not specifically listed in this Section above, are deemed rare and unusual and must be reported to the Office within thirty (30) days of discovery. Such specimens may be sold only upon approval of the Office and only after consultation with the Wyoming Geological Survey pursuant to estab- lishing the rarity or scarcity of the specimens. If approved for sale, such specimens bear the royalty set out in Section 7 of these rules. Any specimens not approved for sale are the property of the State of Wyoming, and must be turned over to the State as directed by the Office. Such specimens shall be delivered on site to the Office or its agent or to the Wyoming Geological Survey, at the option of the Board. Such specimens shall be receipted by the State’s representative when turned over by the permittee. Upon termination of any Commercial Fossil Permit, any and all rare and unusual specimens in a permittee’s possession either on site or at any other location used by a permittee or permittee’s agents for preparation or sale shall be acknowledged and turned over to the Office within thirty (30) days of permit termination.

  (c) No fossil collected under a Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permit may be re- moved from the State without the written consent of the Board. Such consent may be requested by a permit applicant/permittee at the time of permit application. As a condition of approval for the removal of paleon- tological specimens collected under such a permit, permittees must acknowledge, in writing, that such specimens shall forever remain the property, and under the ownership, of the State of Wyoming; and, that such specimens shall be treated as on loan to the permittee, and providing in writing, the permittee’s waiver and the waiver of the institution or association represented by the permittee, of any form of lien against the ownership and possession rights of the State of Wyoming, its Board of Land Commissioners, and the Office of State Lands and Investments unless at the discretion of the Board, such specimen(s) are traded to the permittee and relinquished by the Board, in writing, in exchange for specimens of equal value. Relin- quishment of specimens on loan, and exchange for equal value specimens, will be acted upon based upon the written request of either the permittee or the Wyoming Geological Survey.

  (d) All commercial and scientific fossil inventories recovered from State fossil permit areas, must be maintained separately from other inventories permittees maintain, or individually tagged or marked by Wyoming permit number.

  Section 7. Commercial Fossil Permit Royalties

  (a) A royalty of ten percent (10%) of the gross sales price without deduction of any costs including but not limited to: quarrying, preparation, and marketing, for fossils identified as royalty bearing in section 6(a) and (b) shall be paid no less than quarterly.

  (b) In addition, upon termination of any commercial fossil permit for whatever cause, all fos- sils subject to a royalty removed and in the possession of the permittee either at the site or any other location used by permittee for preparation and/or sales, will be inventoried by the Office and valued at the then current market price as established based upon specimen status, sales receipts and outstanding orders and quotes unless otherwise agreed by the Board. Permittee will be required to pay the prescribed royalty rate based on the value established herein. No fossils other than the common and approved fish genera and specimens listed in Section 6(a) and (b) hereof may be retained without Board approval.

  Section 8. Right of Audit

  (a) Permittees shall maintain at all times during the effective term of any fossil removal permit, and for a minimum of two years thereafter, a record of all fossil sales from State permit discoveries. The Board, and its agents or representatives, shall have the right under any fossil removal permit, to inspect all the books and records of permittees pertaining to quarrying, preparing, cataloguing, placing and selling fossils, and federal tax returns and supporting documents pertaining thereto, such audits to be conducted during normal business hours.

  Section 9. Permission to Quarry

  (a) Applications for Exclusive Commercial and Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Per- mits may be submitted by an individual, institution or company not otherwise restricted by rule or statute, from leasing Wyoming State resources, and, shall be accompanied by a request to begin quarrying contain- ing the following information:

    (i) The name, address, telephone number and principal contact of the permittee as named, and whether the permittee leases, owns, or is a permittee on any other fossil quarry(ies), and if so, the locations of such quarry(ies);

    (ii) The location of the desired area for the operation by legal subdivision, section, town- ship and range. If there is no location survey, provide a metes and bounds description within the township;

    (iii) The proposed commencement and completion dates, if known, for the desired quar- rying operation: that is, whether such quarrying operations will be performed on a continuing calendar month basis, or will be seasonal only. If seasonal, what months will work be performed;

    (iv) A U.S. Geological survey topographical quadrangle map showing:

      (A) The legal boundaries of the requested fossil removal site with the portions of the site to be quarried identified. This information may also be provided in an enlarged reproduction of the map section containing the quarry site;

      (B) If any previous quarrying has taken place, or is currently taking place, within or adjacent to the proposed quarry site, show the location boundaries and identity of such operation as an existing or abandoned quarrying operation; and

      (C) Show any existing or proposed access or haul roads into and away from the proposed quarrying operation. Annotate the roads normally providing access to the quarry; and

    (v) The permittee shall provide a description of the proposed quarrying operation. This description shall include:

      (A) An estimate of topsoil thickness on the quarry site;

      (B) An estimate of the position and thickness of any nonfossiliferous overbur- den anticipated in the quarry as well as description of the nonfossiliferous rock (rock type, color, etc);

      (C) An estimate of the maximum depth planned for the quarry;

      (D) A complete description of the proposed quarrying/excavating procedures to be used and equipment for (1) removal and storage of topsoil, (2) removal of nonfossiliferous overburden, if present, (3) removal of fossil-bearing rock, and (4) recovery of fossils from the fossil-bearing rock, and plans for site restoration after abandonment; and

      (E) The pre-quarrying and proposed post-quarrying land use;

    (vi) All permittees shall provide a listing of all bonafide agents or persons to work in the quarry, including relatives of the permittee. This list shall be kept current during the term of the permit and shall include an address of record for each person on the listing. When a person no longer works for a permittee, he or she should be deleted from this listing. A list shall also be provided, and kept current, of all vehicle descriptions and license plates of authorized vehicles regularly entering and leaving the quarry/ excavation site, and whether any persons authorized to work in the quarry will be temporarily domiciled during the quarrying season at the quarry site. Permittees shall also indicate whether quarrying operations will be carried on during the hours of darkness. All information provided subject to this paragraph may be shared with any authorized law enforcement agency. A copy of all required lists shall be located at a permittee’s quarry and available for review by the Office and its representatives. Permittees shall provide the location(s) to be used for storage and preparation of all specimens recovered; and

    (vii) A sworn statement that all information contained in the quarrying request is true and correct to the best knowledge of the permittee.

  (b) The following are additional conditions for Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Per- mits:

    (i) The Board will consider granting Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permits only to persons or institutions which they may deem properly qualified to conduct such examination, excavations, or gatherings, subject to the provisions prescribed in its permit and provided that the examina- tion, excavations, and gatherings are undertaken for the benefit of reputable museums, universities, col- leges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, with a view of increasing the knowledge of such objects; and provided that the gatherings or collections shall be returned to the Wyoming Geological Survey upon completion of research or shall be made available for permanent preservation at bonafide public museums or at institutions where gatherings and collections are forever available to all qualified scientific researchers;

    (ii) Applications for Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permits will be referred to the State Geologist of Wyoming for his recommendations;

    (iii) No Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal Permit shall be granted for a larger area than the applicant can reasonably be expected to explore fully and systematically within the time limit in the permit;

    (iv) Because other Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal permittees may be engaged in the investigation of the same area, all conflicts between permittees should be resolved by the parties concerned. When this is not possible, the problem will be resolved by the Office; and

    (v) Each application for a Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal permit must be accompanied by a definite outline of the proposed work, indicating the name of the person or institution making the request, the date proposed for beginning the field work, the length of time proposed to be devoted to it, and the person who will have immediate charge of the work. The application must also contain an exact statement of the character of the work, whether examination, excavation, or gathering, and the public museum or institution in which the collections made under the permit are to be preserved.

  Section 10. Quarrying/Excavating Permit Requirements and Prohibited Practices

  (a) Prior to quarrying or excavation of fossils from an Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal Permit area, permittees shall have a land survey performed by a licensed Wyoming surveyor for the pur- pose of placing relatively permanent, locatable, corner stakes or markers that define the boundaries of the intended quarry or excavation. If warranted, the Office may also require a land survey for a quarry or excavation on a Non-Exclusive Fossil Removal Permit.

  (b) Topsoil shall be stripped and segregated from permitted sites and stockpiled in such a man- ner as to minimize wind and water erosion. Topsoil stockpiles should be seeded within thirty (30) days of removal.

  (c) Fossil removal sites shall be kept free of petroleum wastes, other toxic materials, and trash in general.

  (d) To prevent unwarranted destruction of rare and unusual specimens, the use of heavy exca- vation equipment is prohibited on permitted fossil removal sites, except for the purposes of stripping top- soil and nonfossiliferous overburden, redistribution of waste rock, pit contouring during reclamation, the replacement of topsoil, and seeding of the disturbed area.

  (e) Unless special permission is granted, all excavation sites shall be restored, as nearly as possible, to their original condition, to include backfilling of the site, replacement of topsoil, and reseed- ing.

  (f) All camp sites used under Non-Exclusive Scientific Removal Permits during the course of any field investigations or excavations must be left clean, all refuse must be carried out, and adequate sanitation facilities must be maintained.

  (g) State and County law enforcement agencies are authorized hereby to inspect all State land fossil quarry sites.

  (h) Without prior written approval of the Board or the Office, no materials shall be pushed or dumped outside the surveyed boundaries of the quarry area, either during quarrying or during reclamation.

  (i) The use of explosives on permitted fossil removal sites is prohibited.

  Section 11. Bond

  (a) Prior to the removal of any fossil specimens from a permitted Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal site, the permittee shall have an approved bond on file with the Office in an amount equal to no less than six hundred dollars ($600.00) per acre or part thereof in the permit. The Board may increase the bonding requirements on the anniversary date of succeeding years of the permit if the existing bond is not deemed adequate to assure the required reclamation of the site.

  (b) At the discretion of the Office, a Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal permittee may be required to post an approved bond with the Office to assure reclamation of a planned excavation site.  This bond will be in an amount adequate to assure the required reclamation of a site.

  Section 12. Reclamation

  (a) Unless granted a variance, reclamation and restoration of a site shall commence within thirty (30) days after abandonment of the quarry operation. This requirement is not intended to prevent the permittee from conducting reclamation before abandonment of the quarrying operation. Concurrent recla- mation and quarrying are encouraged.

    (i) The operation will be considered abandoned if any of the following occur:

      (A) The permittee notifies the Office that the quarrying operation is abandoned;

      (B) An Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal permittee fails to submit the mini- mal annual royalty on or before the anniversary of each year during the original term of the permit;

      (C) The permittee fails to file for renewal of the Fossil Removal Permit on or before its expiration date; or

      (D) No more commercially or scientifically valuable fossils remain in the quarry.

  (b) The reclamation of the affected lands shall be in accordance with the following:

    (i) Reclamation shall be consistent as practicable with the prequarrying land use;

    (ii) Minimally, reclamation requires all pits or quarried areas to be filled with waste rock (spoils) from the quarrying operation and regraded to blend in with the surrounding terrain. Topsoil must be redistributed evenly over the entire affected land. Seeding of topsoiled areas will be completed after October 1 or prior to May 15, depending upon local soil conditions, with an approved seed mixture, unless another period is approved by the Director;

    (iii) Without prior written approval of the Board or Office no materials shall be pushed or dumped outside the surveyed boundaries of the quarry area;

    (iv) Petroleum wastes, other toxic materials, and trash in general shall be disposed of by methods which insure that topsoil, vegetation, surface water, and ground water are not contaminated;

    (v) Final slopes shall be gentle enough to present no greater hazards to humans or ani- mals than the premining topography and to minimize the risks of erosion; and

    (vi) All reclamation requirements shall be approved by a representative of the Office.

  Section 13. Release of Bonds and Forfeiture of Bonds

  (a) A partial bond release may be recommended by the Director upon completion of final con- touring, topsoil application, and seeding. Upon final reclamation, acceptable to a representative of the Office, the remaining bond will be released. Operators failing to satisfactorily reclaim land will forfeit bonds.

  Section 14. Annual Quarrying Reports/Excavation Reports

  (a) Exclusive Commercial Fossil Removal permittees shall file an annual report on quarrying activities for the previous calendar year on or before May 31 of each year and the last year, of the permit.  At a minimum, this annual quarrying report shall include:

  (i) A narrative description of quarrying activities completed during the year;

    (ii) Annotation of a topographic quadrangle map to reflect any increases in quarry size since the original quarrying request was approved;

    (iii) A description of new quarrying methods or new pieces of equipment that were not described in the original quarrying request; and

    (iv) Proposed plans for the following year’s activities.

  (b) On or before May 31 of each year and the last year of the permit, Non-Exclusive Scientific Fossil Removal permittees shall prepare a written annual quarrying report on the previous season’s activi- ties to include survey/excavation progress; a catalogue of specimens collected, including the nature of each specimen, a tentative identification, and specimen numbers; and, the plans for the following field season, if appropriate. This report shall be submitted in duplicate to the Office. The Office should be provided a copy of any publication resulting from the activities conducted under the authority of the permittee’s Fossil Removal Permit.

  (c) All recipients of Fossil Removal Permits are required to submit to the Office a complete removal statement which inventories all specimens collected during the year. Such statements shall be notarized and must be submitted with the annual quarrying report of each year of the permit.

  (d) The Office shall annually provide the Board with copies of the reporting required under this section.

  Section 15. Inspection of Premises

  (a) The Office or its representatives, authorized State or County law enforcement officers, and the Wyoming Geological Survey have the right to examine collected materials located on the premises of the fossil removal site, permittee’s storage, preparatory and sales sites at any time.

  Section 16. Forfeiture

  (a) In the event that any permittee shall have procured a fossil permit through fraud or misrep- resentation then and in that event, the permit may be canceled by the Board after giving thirty (30) days notice. If any permittee fails to correct or show effort to correct any non-compliance with any of the terms of any fossil removal permit for sixty (60) days after having received such notice by certified mail, then and in that event, the permit will be canceled. If any permittee is convicted of illegal taking of paleontological, archaeological or prehistoric resources from any land, their permit shall be automatically forfeited.