Friday, September 28, 2012

"Imagine you are fishing in the North Slope region of Alaska, or almost anywhere Alaska, and doing well with a few Grayling, Arctic Char, and Northern Pike, always nice fishing there.  Then rounding a bend in the little river in 'anywhere' Alaska, there is this beautiful 'organic' 'Ice Age' Woolly Mammoth tusk lying in shallow water. Now, being that the federal government prohibits the acquisition of this tusk from it's place in the river, all that anyone can do is to look at it, take a photo and walk on by, leaving it to become destroyed by the winter freeze and the subsequent spring break-up when huge amounts of water and ice crushes anything in it's path on it's way downstream.  The loss of logic in this disturbs me, disturbs anyone with a sense of reason for the preservation of such treasure.  The scientific community does not want it, nor does the federal government as there are already such an abundance in every museum and scientific storage facilities throughout the world. So then, this tusk, as with 'thousands' exposed every summer in the many rivers of Alaska, are destroyed, lost to anyone, for nobody is allowed to possess them.  (Only on private property or leased lands have rights to these when discovered, all other locations, which is the majority of the entire state of Alaska, is a lost resource)."
"Woolly Mammoth Tusks, bones and non-diagnostic, as well as diagnostic, 'Ice Age' Pleistocene fossils and artifacts are in such abundance in Alaska as not to ever become depleted. Mankind and the species of Homo-Sapiens will become extinct on this planet long before any beginning of the depletion of these fossils are realized. A great deal of these fossils do offer the scientific community information offered by the pathology of certain recovered specimens.  The scientific community can not often afford to travel in to the field to search and bring out specimens and yet are content to embrace regulations opposing any member of the private sector that may venture such endeavors.  There is this common logic that may exist that should bring the collector and scientist together for the benefit of progress, to reject non-diagnostic discovered fossils and return them to the collector, and to embrace any diagnostic finding to be studied within the laboratories of the appropriate offices with the intention to return the fossil to the collector following the examinations. The scientific community could only benefit with such an association from the private sector, and the government imposed regulations may then finally cease it's programs of creating animosity within it's own country as well as ignoring cooperation potential within the scientific community and those whom are interested in the discovery of this most amazing treasure."
"Arctic beaches deliver such possibilities of discoveries. This photo illustrates a 'Stellar Sea Cow (extinct) rib bone, ancient Inuit digging 'spade,' with a 'missing' driftwood handle, that was affixed through the hole visible in this photo. The notches, (only one visible), was a brace for the attached handle. This find is what is considered a non-diagnostic 'site' discovery, as it was lost to it's true location. We are maintaining a very detached connection with the scientific community in the Arctic. Government sanctioned regulations are crippling any effort to encourage this association.  I personally would indeed enjoy delivering any new site location, or discovery of any possible diagnostic discovery to members of the scientific community but the effort is strictly one sided. It requires intensive study now to understand all of the regulations imposed on even local residents in the Arctic, to collecting without the possibility of persecution, so that anything discovered is not offered to any scientist. It would be logical to not install punishment to those whom may find a valuable artifact or fossil but rather to embrace this potential association which would be a value to the study of any faction of the scientific benefit."