The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to implement regulations to provide for the preservation, management, and protection of paleontological resources on federal lands. The rule would address the management, collection, and curation of paleontological resources from federal lands including management using scientific principles and expertise, collecting of resources with and without a permit, curation in an approved repository, maintaining confidentiality of specific locality data, and authorizing penalties for illegal collecting, sale, damaging, or otherwise altering or defacing paleontological resources.
Public comments must be received by 22 July 2013. More information is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-23/html/2013-12173.htm.