The Bitterroot Conglomerate
Newsletter of the Bitterroot Gem & Mineral Society
Vol. XXVIII issue 9
Presidents Column
(tune in next month)
Editors Notes
I noted while reviewing what I wrote last month that a word was left out that changed the meaning of the sentence. I wrote “She is getting sort of burned”. The word out was omitted and it should have said burned out, (although at times she does get burned).
I will need reports from the Chairperson of the various Committees during the 1st week of each month so they can be included in the newsletter.
The Editor is not responsible for the accuracy of articles accepted, items for sale, nor are the opinions expressed therein necessarily those of the Club Officers, members and/or the Club Editor.
-- Ralph
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BGMS Minutes August 2009
There was no meeting in August but we did have a nice potluck. The day started out somewhat cloudy and it looked like rain so I guess many members stayed home instead of enjoying the potluck and auction. We had a small turnout of members and some guests with Harvey Sharp doing the auctioneering. Thanks Harvey and all of those that helped with the potluck and auction.
BGMS August 2009 Field Trips By Wayne Farley
Calvert Hill: On Wed., August 19, I (Wayne Farley), Steve Vieth, and Bud & Jean Green from Arkansas, drove to the Calvert Hill Mine in the Green’s truck to collect minerals. We started out about 8:30 am; took a leisurely trip over Skalkaho Pass, a pit stop at the Rock Creek Sapphire dig (checked what people were getting, not much), through the gorge west of Georgetown Lake (I pointed out that the red cliffs were 1.2 billion year old Belt-Rocks, and Steve and the Greens took samples), through Anaconda, over the Mill Creek Road to Hi-43, and the turnoff at Dicky Bridge; and arrived at the mine at lunchtime. After lunch, we spent about an hour on the upper area collecting Garnet crystals and other specimens; and then drove down to the base of the dump to collect Epidote crystals. As usual, Steve went for the big stuff, spotting a hundred pound boulder with nice Epidote crystals. Steve and Bud put it in a big canvas bag, and lugged it over the rock pile down to the vehicle for Sam’s keepsake. Steve has a twin to it at his house from a previous trip. I settled for a twenty pound chunk, which Steve helped me collect, and which he carried most of the way to the vehicle. By late afternoon we were pooped; and headed for home via Wisdom, Chief Joseph Pass, Darby, and to the Lake Como Campgrounds where the Green’s had their motorhome. Steve had his truck there at the campground, so we (Steve and I) left the Green’s and headed home to Hamilton. It was a good trip.
Anderson Ranch Rendezvous: On Wed., August 26, my son Daniel and I took off after lunch for the Anderson Ranch Rendezvous. We went via Skalkaho Pass, Anaconda, to Hi-90, down Hi-15 to Dillon, and on the Clearwater road that goes from Dillon to the Ruby Reservoir. The campsite was about fifteen miles west of the Ruby Reservoir, and 1.5 miles east of the old abundant Anderson Ranch buildings on the Clearwater Road. We arrived there about 5:00 pm, expecting that there would be a potluck at 6:00 pm like last year. We had brought a cake for the potluck. There were several trailers there but people were still not organized enough to have the potluck. There was talk about having it the next day. The Kaisers (Jo and Gayla) from Salmon ( members of our BGMS-club) arrived shortly after we got there. There were no other BGMS members. Some people had arrived early in the day, and had gone on a field trip about 10 West on the Clearwater Rd to collect Garnets and star Ruby Corundum’s in the flats right off the road. They had done quite well, and had numerous rough garnets, and several nice Corundum crystals. I told the group that the Corundum would probably fluoresce under long wave UV, and I would check it after dark; and if it did fluoresce, I would lead a night hunt to the area. After dark, I checked the corundum, and it did fluoresce with a dark red glow. Several of us in three vehicles therefore went on the night hunt. I had my flashlight type LED UV light, and Tim Hoff had a typical long wave UV light. We spent about an hour on the hunt and my son Daniel found three small corundum flakes that fluoresced. We could have used a stronger UV light or a darker night. There was a quarter moon. The daylight search group had apparently found all of the bigger pieces, and the small pieces were hard to spot with the UV lights. There is still good potential in the surrounding area, for day or night hunts, if one spends more time in the area.
The next day Daniel and I went to the garnet stream area to get a 5 gallon bucket of garnet gravel for Bob Riggs for the Missoula Sept 26-27 show; and most of the rest went back to the Corundum area. About an hour later, after we got our gravel, we went up the road to join the Corundum group. Some were leaving just as we arrived, and no one was searching the flats in the fields. We asked what was happening. They said that shortly before we arrived, they were in the fields beyond the fence which runs along the road, and a car pulls up and a rancher steps out as asked what they are doing. Kevin thought the rancher was friendly and just wanted to “shoot the bull”, and they thought they were on BLM land; so Kevin jokingly said “we are just digging gopher holes”. The rancher was not friendly, and he said “this is my property and I want you off of it immediately”. Kevin said “we thought this was BLM land”. The rancher said “it’s not, and if you don’t get off my land immediately, I have a gun in my vehicle that may persuade you, and I will call the sheriff”. They left immediately. When we arrived, the rancher was not there. Several of them stayed another twenty minutes and looked for corundum along the sides of the Sweetwater road, but did not find anything. Kevin said he still thought that the land was BLM land and the Rancher may only have had grazing rights. Those types think they own the land, but legally they can’t keep you from recreating on the land, including rockhounding. But who’s going to argue with a gun! It turns out that Kevin is going with a girl whose uncle is that Rancher, and she said her uncle is a notorious SOB. Kevin will do further checking on the area to see if indeed the SOB owns the land, and if we will ever have access.
Daniel and I got back to camp for lunch, and after lunch Daniel said he thought he was coming down with stomach flu, as he had been getting stomach cramps all day. We told the group that we might have to leave early, because of Daniel’s problem. It was quite hot, and Daniel thought that if we took a ride in our air-conditioned truck, he might feel better. We drove up to the Ruby Reservoir, stopped to use the restroom, and walked around a bit. Daniel said he was still not feeling well, so we decided to head for home. We returned via Butte, Anaconda, and the Skalkaho Pass. Although the trip was short, we still had a good trip.
Member Field Trip Reports
None.
Mining Committee Report
The assessment waiver form and the form certifying our assessment work were filed last month by Gayla.
MT Council Report
None
N. W. Federation Report Nothing to report this month.
Programs
Where are those that said they could put on a program at our meetings? You don’t need to do it by yourself, get another person to help you that is interested in the subject you are presenting. Also the person that gives the program does not have to be a member. Try and find someone to put on a program in your stead. If we do not get volunteers I will be assigning you to put on a program or we will have to watch a video.
Jo Farley, Chairman
For Sale. An ore car from the Betty O’Neil Mine near Battle Mountain, Nevada. In good shape. $500.00. Contact Posey at 961-4116
Mildred has a Trim Saw with a 6” blade plus an extra blade for $75.00 call her. 363-5224
Jim Rayner in Hamilton has a 12” Rock Sat for $500 and a Fram Tom Tock Grinder Set-up with 2 diamond wheels, and a 10” trim saw with new blade, new motor on a steel stand for $800. 375-0663
Fossil Collecting on Public Lands
(Continued from last month)
Section 6301(4) defines paleontological resource as:
“… any fossilized remains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in or on the earth's crust, that are of paleontological interest and that provide information about the history of life on earth…”
Paleontological resources do not include any materials associated with an archaeological resource as defined in section 3(1) of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb(1)), or any cultural item as defined in section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001).
Basic BLM policies for collection under, and issuance of, paleontological resources use permits have not changed and will be clarified in subsequent instruction memoranda or in new regulations promulgated under the Act.
Permits for collecting are issued by the BLM, primarily for vertebrate fossil specimens (organisms with a backbone), and scientifically significant invertebrate (organisms without a backbone) and plant fossils. BLM permits are generally issued only to professional paleontologists, who must agree to preserve their finds in a public museum, a college, or a university because of their relative rarity and scientific importance.
Usually a permit is not needed for the recreational collection of common invertebrate and plant fossils as long as you are not collecting in a special use area such as a Wilderness Study Area or Area of Critical Environmental Concern. It’s important to check with your local office for more specific information, since some fossil invertebrate and plant localities may be significant and are closed to casual collection.
On April 24, 2009, the BLM issued an instruction memorandum, IM 2009-113 , on Casual Collecting of Common Invertebrate and Plant Paleontological Resources under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009 which provides guidelines regarding collecting of paleontological resources under the OPLA-PRP.
Survey and Excavation Permits
There are two types of permits that are issued to qualified applicants such as vertebrate paleontologists.
1) Survey/ limited surface collection permits allow the researcher to search for evidence of vertebrate and other scientifically significant fossils. Bones lying on the surface may be removed, but with only about one square meter of the surface allowed to be disturbed.
A survey permit is also issued to qualified paleontological consultants for the purpose of investigating federal actions such as pipelines, coal mines, oil & gas pads, power-lines, roads or any major surface disturbing activity that may occur in areas that are suspected to have significant paleontological values.
2) Excavation permits allow the researcher to dig trenches to further explore for buried bones; dig pits to remove buried bones; and open an area to the bone bed that is large enough to map, photograph and work safely to remove the discovered bones. Before authorizing an excavation permit, the BLM needs to assess potential impacts to the area, including a review by a BLM archeologist and a BLM wildlife biologist. An environmental assessment must be written to document any and all concerns and must be approved by the field manager.
Please check with the BLM office nearest you for more information on permit requirements and the locations of special use areas.
For general information on paleontological resources use permits, please contact the BLM Regional Paleontologist or BLM State Office .
If you have any additional questions about collecting fossils on public lands, please contact your local BLM State Office.
SAVE USED POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CANCER RESEARCH!
GIVE A HOOT - DON"T POLLUTE! KEEP MONTANA GREEN
