Rock Collecting on State and Federal Lands
Digging for Gold and Gems in Parks, Forests, and Deserts
Feb 16, 2009
As a rule, State and National Parks normally don't allow visitors to dig in their parks because it contributes to erosion and can spoil the natural beauty of the area. There are also regulations in place to protect natural, cultural, and archeological resources. And then there's the legal ramifications if caught without proper permission or permits.
But there are a small number of exceptions to almost any rule, such as with Crater of Diamonds State Park located in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. This park actually encourages visitors to get their hands dirty. For a small fee, currently $7 for adults and $4 for children over the age of 6, visitors are allowed to dig for diamonds and other gems and can keep their finds. Some visitors have even found some very valuable stones.
Rock Collecting in National Forests and State Recreation Areas
State recreation areas, and state and national forests will sometimes have a more relaxed policy, such as the Garnet Hill Recreation Area in White Pine County, near Ely, Nevada. Rockhounds will be delighted to know that the government has designated this area as a rock prospecting area for garnets.
Interested in finding more garnets? Visit the St. Joe National Forest just west of Clarkia, Idaho and try prospecting for “star garnets” in the Emerald Creek Garnet Area. A one day permit allows visitors to take up to 5 lbs of garnets. Visitors may purchase a maximum of 6 permits per year, limiting them to an annual grand total of 30 lbs of garnets.
In the Ouachita National Forest, located in Arkansas, rockhounds can search for quartz two free-use quartz crystal collecting areas at the “Crystal Vista” in the Womble Ranger District located near Mt. Ida, and at “Crystal Mountain” in the Jessieville Ranger district located between Jessieville and Perryville.
The rules for collecting rocks in the Ouachita National Forest vary greatly from what rockhounds can expect at the commercial quartz mining sites. All crystal collecting done in the Ouachita National Forest must be done by hand, without tools or digging, and can only be taken in very limited quantities; less than 25 lbs per person.
Rockhounds can dig for amethyst crystal at 220-acre Crystal Park, located in the Pioneer Mountains of Montana just 70 miles from city of Butte. This amethyst-rich area is managed by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest service and is open May through September depending on road conditions.
Rockhounding and the Bureau of Land Management
California has several options for rockhounds thanks to the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, that allows rock collecting at Turtle Mountain, Chemehuevi Wash, and Vidal Junction, all located near Parker Dam. At these locations, rockhounders take advantage of desert access to find jasper, opalite, agate, and opal.
Additionally, near Chambless is the Amboy Crater National Landmark and the Marble Mountain Rock Collecting Area off of historic Route 66. Here rock collectors can hunt for epidote, dolomite, chrysocolla, chalcedony, serpentine, marble, garnet and specular hematite, iron and kenatite, chalcedony crystals, geodes and gold.
In the Yellowstone area, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, prospectors can pan for gold in numerous creeks and streams. In fact, in the Kootenai National Forest near the town of Libby, Montana, an entire area has been set aside for gold panning, and similarly the South Pass Area of Wyoming near the town of Lander has virtually become a gold prospecting paradise.
With a bit of research, a determined rockhound will discover that there's no limit to the number of places open to rock collecting, like these: Best Places to Dig For Gems in the United States.
 |
