Permits & rules
Artifacts are not specimens
A flake, point, sherd, corn cob, or tin can from an old camp can look like “just trash on the ground.” On public land it is often a cultural resource. Casual rock collecting does not cover it.
Leave these
- Arrowheads, points, tools, pottery, grinding stones
- Structures, rock art, bones in a site context
- Anything that looks made or used by people, including historic cabins and dumps in many cases
Photograph. GPS for yourself. Walk away. Do not “just take one sherd for the classroom” off federal or state land unless you have a real permit for that activity.
Why this is stricter than agate
Federal and state historic-preservation rules sit on top of BLM casual-use rock rules. Monuments and parks are even tighter. “I collect rocks” is not a defense if the object is an artifact.
If you already picked something up
Stop adding to the pile. Contact the field office or park. Don’t sell it, don’t post a “look what I found in Bears Ears” haul.
Informational only — not legal advice. When an object might be cultural, the answer on this site is leave it.