Implementing the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009 (PRPA)

The departmental regulation under the PRPA (43 CFR 49) provides general guidance for managing paleontological resources on lands managed by U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus. There is, however, a need to provide Bureau specific guidance and clarification for the management of paleontological resources on BLM-administered lands.

Paleontological Permitting. The BLM has issued paleontology permits since 1984 when Secretarial Order 3104 transferred the authority to manage permits from the National Park Service to the BLM.  In 1998, the BLM 8270 manual and handbook series was introduced, identifying two types of permits: survey and limited surface collection and excavation.  In 2006, the BLM began issuing a third type of permit, called a consulting permit.  More recently, new developments in research and education prompted a need for more categories that authorize collection of paleontological resources, including non-vertebrate fossils.  As an alternative to creating multiple categories of permits, the BLM recognizes that each project is, in some way, unique and that applicants should be qualified and equipped to do the work that they propose instead of fitting into prearranged categories.

Confidentiality. Paleontological location data is exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, U.S.C., and any other law unless the Bureau determines that disclosure would: (1) further the purposes of the PRPA; (2) not create risk of harm to or theft or destruction of the resource or the site containing the resource; and (3) be in accordance with other applicable laws (16 U.S.C. 470aaa-8 and 43 CFR 49.25).

Paleontological datasets exist so that mangers, researchers, and the public may understand how and where plants and animals changed through time; however, this need for open science must be balanced against the Bureau’s responsibility to protect paleontological resources from theft or damage when their localities are made publicly available.  PRPA preserves paleontological locality data from disclosure, but also allows Bureau discretion to share or release location data in furtherance of the Act.  Establishing 0.1 decimal degrees latitude/longitude as a baseline standard for the sharing of paleontological locality information follows the standard provided by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for highly sensitive geospatial data and is consistent with professional best practices used by multiple museums and organizations.  Zero point one (0.1) decimal degrees is, depending on latitude, an area approximately 6 miles in diameter. For the purpose of this policy, 0.1 decimal degrees is the same as 10,000 x 10,000 meters in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) or 6 x 6 miles (1 township) in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS).

Casual Collection. During the public comment period, many respondents expressed concern that they would be in violation of the PRPA if they otherwise legally collected a non-vertebrate paleontological resource that was later discovered to be uncommon.  This policy clarifies that non-vertebrate fossils found on BLM-administered lands may be treated as common unless or until they are recognized to be uncommon.

Potential Fossil Yield Classification. The Potential Fossil Yield Classification (PFYC) system provides an estimate of the potential that important paleontological resources will be found in a mapped geological unit and may be used by non-specialists to assess possible impacts to paleontological resources prior to authorizing Federal actions that include surface disturbance, land use planning, or land tenure adjustment.