is picking up natural rocks and stuff illegal?

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: pontifex
you need a rocking permit, duh.

They issue such a thing in Oregon. My dad got one, I think maybe from the BLM, and they gave him a permit, map to specific places where it was allowed (with permits), and told him how much he could get. I don't remember how much the permit was. Might've been free, might've been five or ten bucks.

 

[Lurknomore]

So a native american, whose ancestors may have lived on land that is now a federal park would be fined if he picked up and pocketed a rock without permission.
lol.

 

[DVK916]

When I went camping in Lassen National Park, and Sequoia National Park, they made it clear, removing any rock, any branch, or any plant was a crime.

 

[anno]

Originally posted by: mattocs
I know that state parks here in Pennsylvania don't allow you to take anything you find. Its weird, I can catch a fish at a state lake and keep it, but I cannot keep a couple rocks I find while hiking next to the lake?

I'd still go for it. I mean, if you take a couple rocks, its not big deal. If you load a truck full of them, it will become a big deal.

we might should differentiate here between a rock you can pick up and put in your pocket and a rock you need several friends or.. tools.. to help you lift and transport to your vehicle..

I'm sure the line between OK and not OK falls somewhere in between those two.. and somewhere below the not OK line, quantity will come in to play as a factor of OKness too..

edit: unless it's one of those places pickin' up a pebble is illegal.. don't think I've ever been to one of those places.. but apparently they exist.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: anno

Originally posted by: mattocs
I know that state parks here in Pennsylvania don't allow you to take anything you find. Its weird, I can catch a fish at a state lake and keep it, but I cannot keep a couple rocks I find while hiking next to the lake?

I'd still go for it. I mean, if you take a couple rocks, its not big deal. If you load a truck full of them, it will become a big deal.

we might should differentiate here between a rock you can pick up and put in your pocket and a rock you need several friends or.. tools.. to help you lift and transport to your vehicle..

I'm sure the line between OK and not OK falls somewhere in between those two.. and somewhere below the not OK line, quantity will come in to play as a factor of OKness too..

edit: unless it's one of those places pickin' up a pebble is illegal.. don't think I've ever been to one of those places.. but apparently they exist.

BLM guidelines for BLM controlled land in Oregon/Washington.

COLLECTING LIMITS & PERMITS: You can collect a reasonable amount of rocks and minerals from BLM lands, but a permit or fee may be needed if you exceed certain amounts as described below. Note that the collecting limits for petrified wood are slightly different.

No Permit required for:
A Reasonable Daily Collecting Amount
- fits into the trunk of a car or,
- is a partial pickup truck load and,
- weighs less than 250 lbs.,
- and the material is for non-commercial use.
(For petrified wood, see below)

BLM

 

[slackerinabox]

How many rocks are we talking about? I like taking seashells from the beach and never consider it theft. But if I took 300 seashells and prevented other people from enjoy the seashells, well.. It's tacky. If you're talking about taking enough rocks to landscape your front lawn - dude... Pay for them. I'd just be embarrassed to go through with the whole thing, seems almost as tacky as taking soil from a public park.

 

[winr]

This is why some things are restricted I believe.

1 person taking something versus 100,000 people taking something adds up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Rock

...................................................................................................................................
During the Rock's many journeys throughout the town of Plymouth numerous pieces of the Rock were taken, bought and sold. Today approximately 1/3 of the top portion remains. It is estimated that the original Rock weighed 20,000 lb. Although some documents indicate that tourists or souvenir hunters chipped it down, no pieces have been noticeably removed since 1880. Today there are pieces in Pilgrim Hall Museum as well as in the Patent Building in the Smithsonian
....................................................................................................................................

When I was in Aruba I was told they have an ordinance against taking too many shells and stuff like that, they were losing zillions of pounds of shells, etc a year.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
How many rocks are we talking about? I like taking seashells from the beach and never consider it theft. But if I took 300 seashells and prevented other people from enjoy the seashells, well.. It's tacky. If you're talking about taking enough rocks to landscape your front lawn - dude... Pay for them. I'd just be embarrassed to go through with the whole thing, seems almost as tacky as taking soil from a public park.

I'd say that 1/2 pickup load of rocks per day is plenty enough for the average homeowner to do whatever needs to be done with yard landscaping.

 

[Luthien]

If you just want a few rocks I say just take them but like many have already said if you need a lot of them then you might want to reconsider.

I can just see a police car rolling up or a ranger or something. If your truck was full when they rolled up you would probably get a ticket. If it was just a few rocks they would say put them back and sorry you cant take them.

In the past when their were fewer poeple it would never have been an issue but in today's society with lots of people and hence less resources...

 

[fleshconsumed]

Fishing license freshwater
Fishing license saltwater
Hunting license
Firearm owner ID card
Rocking license
Wanna build a small porch to your house? Gotta get a license
Wanna put new electrical cabling, gotta get a permit for that too

What next? A license to breathe? This is one of the things I find stupid about US. You have to have license to do anything. You can't go and have a picnic without worrying about breaking a dozen of possible rules that you might not know about.

 

[Slew Foot]

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Fishing license freshwater
Fishing license saltwater
Hunting license
Firearm owner ID card
Rocking license
Wanna build a small porch to your house? Gotta get a license
Wanna put new electrical cabling, gotta get a permit for that too

What next? A license to breathe? This is one of the things I find stupid about US. You have to have license to do anything. You can't go and have a picnic without worrying about breaking a dozen of possible rules that you might not know about.

Yeah but how is the government going to get money if they cant license anything you do?