[NHCOLL-L:1721] National Park Service specimen ownership policy

[Sally Shelton]

Forwarded from MAMMAL-L. 

>>> Gardner.Alfred at NMNH.SI.EDU 8:41:06 AM Thursday, October 10, 2002 >>>
I am sending this message on behalf of Ellen Paul, please respond directly
to her.


To whom it may concern:

This memo concerns the question of the ownership of specimens collected in
the National Parks. I've been working on it for some time for the
Ornithological Council, and  AIBS has decided that it should join in this
effort at this time, in part because it affects all biological specimens,
and in part because it is of course more effective for the entire biological
community to speak as one. I've also contacted our colleagues at the
American Geological Institute because they have to deal with this same
issue.

What I would like from you is feedback from your societies and your members
as to their experiences in collecting in the National Parks, and
particularly with regard to the issue of ownership of specimens collected.

The background is as follows:

A thorn in the side of those of our members who collect specimens in the
National Parks is the NPS policy that the NPS retains ownership. The NPS can
(and usually does) make long-term loans, but can (and sometimes does) recall
the material at any time. Based on input from the ornithologists over the
past few years, plus intermittent but recurrent traffic on Permits-L (a
listserver run from the Smithsonian that focuses on permit issues), this is
enough of a problem that some taxonomists don't want to work in the parks.
Another concern is the inability of most parks to properly house and curate
collections. Therefore, when specimens remain in the possession of the park,
or are recalled by the park, they often deteriorate. Further, when the NPS
retains ownership, it can direct that the specimen be sent to any
institution of its choosing.

I've talked to John Dennis, a biologist who works for Mike Soukup, the NPS
Assistant Director for Natural Resources, and he tells me that they are
aware of the concerns of biologists, but that they feel that they can't
change the policy because of statutory language. He alluded to the NPS
Organic Act.

It is apparently this language (from the Organic Act, 1916) that NPS relies
upon:

"He [well, now it is a she!] may also grant privileges, leases, and permits
for the use of land for the accommodations of visitors in the various parks,
monuments...; and no natural curiosities, wonders, or objects of interest
shall be leased, rented, or granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere
with free access to them by the public..."

In my view, that doesn't mean that objects can't be given. It means that
they can't be given without conditions that guarantee free access to them by
the public. I would say that long-term loan to a museum collection doesn't
assure access any better than simply giving the item to the museum. Museums
typically do not allow the general public to roam through the collections.
The form of ownership (loan from the NPS v. outright ownership) is
irrelevant. Furthermore, I'd suspect that most of the NPS collections are
inaccessible to the public.

It also undermines the commercial research policy that the NPS seeks to
establish. There is nothing in this statutory language that exempts
commercial research. Basically, the NPS has a new policy that permits
bioprospecting, with royalties to the NPS if any commercial use is made of
the material taken from the park. So, they can give it away for commercial
scientific research, but not for noncommercial scientific research. The
matter was litigated, but the groups objecting to the policy dropped the
litigation and the NPS is now in the process of drafting an Environmental
Impact Statement.

We are pursuing this matter through direct negotiation with NPS, and should
those efforts prove fruitless, will seek legislative relief.

Meanwhile, it would be very useful to hear about the experiences of those
of your members who have collected specimens in the national parks. If you
would forward this request to those of your members who might have
information or insight to share, asking them to respond to me, I would be
most appreciative.


Ellen Paul
Public Policy Representative
American Institute of Biological Sciences
1444 Eye St., N.W., Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20005
epaul at aibs.org 
Phone:(202)628-1500, x250
Fax: (202)628-1509
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