[NHCOLL-L:2625] Field Collecting Legalities

[Shirley S Albright]

Hello everyone!

New Jersey is drying out from the Flood of 2005, and a Beluga whale is 
still cavorting in the Delaware River by Trenton (yes...that's right, a 
marine mammal in freshwater).   

My question this morning involves the acquisition of natural history 
objects collected by staff during fieldwork or roadkill recoveries.  
Above and beyond a copy/original of any issued permit, what 
documentation do you include in your accession files for such acquisitions?

For example, if a fossil is collected on private land, do you also 
include either a Deed of Gift or letter of transmittal from the 
landowner?    I believe this is standard procedure, but there are others 
here who don't share that opinion.    I'd like to see the procedure 
formalized in our Acquisition Procedures and Policies to avoid confusion 
down the road.    Apparently, I'm going to need some legal citation or 
consensus of opinion from other institutions to convince my colleagues.

How do you handle such things as road kill recoveries?  

The other issue involves describing the inventory of the field 
collection lot.   After attending a seminar back in 1991 I was under the 
impression that a preliminary receipt for objects could be fairly vague 
(example:  6 cartons of fossils), but that a Deed of Gift or Letter of 
Transmittal had to be specific enough that an independent auditor could 
clearly identify what was being donated.   In other words, one may not 
have the objects firmly identified, but the institution had to indicate 
the number and description of the lot's contents.

I'd appreciate your feedback on these two items.    Thanks bunches.

Shirley Albright
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