Managing Nova Scotia's fossil resources has been part of the mandate of the Nova Scotia Museum since the enactment of the Historical Objects Protection Act in 1970. The Special Places Protection Act, which  replaced that legislation in 1980, is much more comprehensive, requiring a permit to search for fossils anywhere in the province. Implementing the Act has been problematic—changing times suggest that the Act and its supporting policies be revisited.

Fossils are a common property resource—they belong to the people of the province. Management of the province's rich fossil resource should provide a net benefit to present and future generations. They are beneficial in many ways—fossils provide the evidence for reconstruction of our ancient world; fossil exhibitions draw people to our museums; important fossil localities draw visitors into our communities; and fossils provide a focus for formal and informal education.

This document defines a new vision for fossil resource management in Nova Scotia. Modelled after the strategic plan for education and training in Nova Scotia, it identifies key strategic goals that define the direction for legislative, policy and program initiatives. With the direction set, the next challenge is to identify the projects, priorities and resources to implement the vision.

The contents of this paper were consolidated from meetings on November 15, 1994 and May 2, 1995 at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. These meetings were chaired by Mr. Robert Ogilvie of the Nova Scotia Museum, who drafted this and other written materials associated with the meetings. Written comments were submitted by Dr. Robert Carroll, Mr. Kevin Conlin, Dr. Roy L. Bishop, Ms. Pam Harrison, Mr. Eldon George, Mr. Donald Reid, Mr. Doug Reid, Mr. Ken Adams, Dr. Laing Ferguson, Mr. George Hrynewich, Dr. Richard Wassersug, Dr. Erwin Zodrow, Dr. John Calder, Mr. Bob Grantham and Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues. Useful input also came from others who attended one or both of the meetings—the Honourable John MacEachern, Ms. Candace Stevenson, Ms. Debra Burleson, Mr. Calum Ewing, Dr. Graham Williams, Mr. Victor Owen, Dr. Mike Melchier, Dr. David Scott, Mr. Kevin Cameron, Ms. Flona Cole, Mr. Gordon Oakey, Mr. Don Reid, Ms. Gloria Melanson, Mr. Peter Morris, Mr. Paul Mandel and Mr. Winton Wightman.

This vision promotes a true partnership amongst all users of the resource, where all users recognize the tremendous potential for scientific discovery, education and community development. It is this spirit of cooperation which will take this vision and make it a model for others to follow.

"To encourage and assist Nova Scotians in preserving and developing their cultural and natural heritage."

• Innovative approaches in fossil resource management are required to meet the challenges posed by social, economic and technological change.
• Priorities must be established to direct the allocation of limited funds in the delivery of fossil resource management.
• Our knowledge resources and natural heritage must be preserved to provide a basis for future development.

In the fall of 1994, the Nova Scotia Museum held a meeting with representatives of various fossil user-groups around the province—scientists, commercial collectors, casual collectors and enthusiasts, tourist operators, and museum staff. This one day meeting in November 1994 marked the beginning of a process to develop a new vision for fossil resource management. A surprisingly high degree of consensus on most issues provided a sound basis for a new approach to fossil management.

The notes from that meeting were compiled into a rough "vision" document. That draft was first distributed for comment, then edited and redistributed, for a second meeting in early May, 1995. That meeting, which was attended by the Minister of Education and Culture, clarified the outstanding issues and paved the way for the development of a draft strategic plan. The draft strategic plan outlines the projects needed to implement the vision described in this document.

The following section provides a brief outline of 10 strategic goals developed through the consultation process. Further information on each, including guiding principles and implementation strategies, are provided in the body of the document.

• important fossils require study and long-term care.
• all type specimens (ie. those on which a genus, species or sub-species is based) and figured specimens (those which have appeared as photographs or line drawings in taxonomic references) must be surrendered to the Nova Scotia Museum for long-term maintenance and care.
• it is of value to palaeontologists for comprehensive fossil collections to be held and curated in proximity to the sites from which they were collected.
• development of comprehensive palaeontological collections in the province will draw researchers to the province.
• representative collections may be made available to major institutions in Canada and elsewhere.
• reasonable compensation may be paid for expenses incurred in the delivery of scientifically important fossil specimens to the Nova Scotia Museum.
• fossils may be loaned to researchers and other institutions according to a timetable negotiated as part of the loan agreement.

collections will be managed as prescribed by the Collection Management Policy for the Nova Scotia Museum.
• under certain conditions specimens may remain in the custody of the finder.

•   have the Nova Scotia Museum develop, maintain and make accessible a database of all significant fossils found in Nova Scotia.
• develop program to support voluntary repatriation of significant Nova Scotia fossils from other institutions, and from private collectors.
• announce an amnesty for all collectors who collected without a permit but who are willing to have their collections screened and significant specimens documented.

enlist a network of knowledgable scientists to assist with screening and identification of fossils.

• the province does not want to possess every fossil discovered in the  province.
• individual collectors cannot determine what is or isn't important.
• all fossils are potentially significant.
• in situ fossils are more highly valued than loose fossils.
• finders should receive credit for their discovery.
• all fossils belong to the Province with the exception of those which have been screened and released by the Nova Scotia Museum or its designated agents.
• fossils which have not been screened are owned by the Province.
• contributors to the Provincial collection may be compensated for reasonable expenses incurred in recovering the fossil.

•   schedule and advertise regular fossil identification days where collectors could bring fossils to be screened and identified by scientists.
• develop a mechanism whereby private collectors whose fossils are chosen to be a part of the provincial collection may be compensated for reasonable expenses and credited with their discovery.
• develop a mechanism whereby private model-makers make fossil reproductions for the finder and for sale by the Nova Scotia Museum and other vendors.
• develop a range of compensation types, including a finders fee (based upon the costs incurred in recovering the fossil) for contributors to the Provincial collection.
• develop a mechanism so that unscreened fossils can remain in private collections with the understanding that they cannot be sold or removed from the province.

•   the clients of fossil-resource management are scientists, students, local communities, entrepreneurs and present and future Nova Scotians.
• well-informed clients are likely to find and promote opportunities for mutually beneficial activities.
• informed users of the fossil resource are less likely to act to the detriment of other users.

•   nurture the establishment of a society of palaeontological professionals and enthusiasts.
• promote joint projects involving enthusiasts, researchers, the museum community and others.
• investigate opportunities for using the Internet to facilitate information exchange amongst Nova Scotians and around the world.
• promote standard recording and cataloguing of all private and institutional collections with registry at the Nova Scotia Museum.

•   different permit categories will be developed for different levels of activity.
• relevant and useful information will be provided to all permit holders at the time of issuance.
• permits must be carried, and if feasible displayed, by all permit holders.
• to prevent excessive collecting, a limit may be imposed in some permit categories and/or fossil localities.
• it is beneficial to allow continual, regulated fossil recovery from sites which suffer substantial, constant erosion.
• small-scale, occasional collecting for individual pleasure or learning should be made as easy as possible, considering always the need for conservation and protection of scientifically important specimens and sites.

•   develop distinct permit categories and guidelines for casual collecting; avocational collecting; professional survey; commercial collecting;  excavation and others if required.
• establish a mechanism for distributing permits.

identify selected sites which suffer substantial, constant erosion, and where avocational permits will be available to enthusiasts for recovering fossils on a continuous basis.

• widely available information on the laws and regulations governing fossil collecting will cause less confusion among collectors.
• widely available information on the fossil resource will encourage collectors to think more of the scientific and educational value of fossils as opposed to the trinket value.

• provide basic information on the fossils of the region at the time the permit is issued and in appropriate locations.
• produce a series of fossil identification guides for different regions/time periods.
• develop a certification system for fossil guides.

develop  revenue-neutral training to support collectors interested in learning more about the fossil resource.

• the province does not want to retain all fossils collected in the Nova Scotia.
• commercial collecting can generate modest economic activity for Nova Scotian entrepreneurs.
• significant fossils must be submitted to the Nova Scotia Museum for the provincial collection.
• commercial collecting rights will not exclude other legitimate collectors from a site.
• commercial collectors must work closely with the Province and the scientific community.
• commercial collectors will require permits or licenses for collecting fossils.
• only Nova Scotian-based collectors will be allowed to undertake commercial collecting in the province.
• commercial collectors will be eligible for excavation permits only under controlled conditions.
• the sale of fossils should contribute to the support of fossil resource management.
• only licensed outlets will be allowed to sell Nova Scotian fossils.

• establish laws, regulations or guidelines to ensure that sale of all fossils is controlled.
• establish or modify laws, regulations and guidelines to allow appropriate fossils to be sold by commercial collectors or dealers under license.
• develop a regulation to ensure that commercial collectors have their permits available for viewing when recovering fossils.
• develop a mechanism to ensure that commercial collectors have permission from landowners, including when relevant the provincial Crown, before collecting.

develop a regulation to ensure that the Province benefits from the sale of Nova Scotian fossils.

• anyone  planning to carry out research on in situ fossils require a Heritage Research Permit (excavation) from the Nova Scotia Museum.
• all research plans/actions must be submitted to the Nova Scotia Museum for approval as part of the permit application process.
• removal of in-situ fossils from designated sites or acclaimed observation sites will be undertaken after consultation with Museum authorities and the local community.
• excavators must have their permits available for inspecting when in fossil collecting areas.
• if circumstances warrant, sites may be closed to collecting at the discretion of the Minister.
• permit applicants must be qualified to undertake the work proposed in their permit application.
• excavation permits will only be issued to trained scientists from recognized institutions, experienced and trained collectors, or persons working under their supervision.

• develop a permit type with relevant guidelines and procedures to allow recovery of fossil material that is threatened with imminent destruction.
• develop guidelines to ensure that applicants provide consistently comprehensive information with their permit applications and reports.
• develop a mechanism to ensure that permit information is provided to appropriate authorities.

• landowners should not suffer from the actions of fossil collectors.
• landowners should have prior knowledge of scientific excavations on their property.

• consider developing a standard release to protect landowners from liability.
• notify landowners of the existence of important fossil-bearing strata on or adjacent to their property.
• maintain a list of landowners for common and important fossil collecting and viewing sites.
• involve landowners in community-based fossil management groups.
• clarify private/Crown land ownership uncertainties with respect to sea cliffs.
• clarify the regulations and policies with respect to removing loose fossils from designated beaches under the provisions of the Beaches Protection Act.

• areas of palaeontological significance should be designated as Protected Sites under the Special Places Protection Act.
• local community groups, scientists, educators, landowners and museums who are closest to and most affected by the outcome of fossil resource management decisions for areas of palaeontological significance are the people best situated to develop and implement solutions to achieve desired results.
• members participating in community groups should have a balanced educational, scientific and economic representation.
• community enforcement and promotion is more effective than external enforcement and management.
• cooperative community/government management is more effective than either in isolation.

• with coordination by the Nova Scotia Museum, identify a priority site and prepare a prototype site management plan in consultation with the local and palaeontological communities, and proceed with designation under the Special Places Protection Act.
• develop a structure for setting up distinct but similar community/government management groups in key regions.
• work with community groups to identify tour operators and ensure that they are complying with appropriate procedures.

• specimens will be acquired, preserved, used and disposed of  as per the provisions of the Collection Management Policy For The Nova Scotia Museum.
• all rare fossil finds should remain in the province of Nova Scotia unless they are part of a national or international tour, or unless they are loaned for scientific research.

• the Museum will work with communities, scientists and enthusiasts to document the presence and location of exposed fossils and improve access to fossil collections, both public and private.
• investigate ways of using new technologies and the information highway to broaden access to information on, and images of, Nova Scotian fossils.