Where am I allowed to collect rocks and minerals?
Updated
On this page6
It depends on who manages the ground, and each land manager has its own rule. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land is the most open: reasonable amounts of rocks, minerals and semiprecious gemstones for noncommercial use, with hand tools and metal detectors [1]. National forests allow small amounts for personal use with no mechanical equipment [2]. National parks, wildlife refuges, Corps of Engineers lakes and Reclamation reservoirs prohibit removal without authorization [3][4][5][6]. State, tribal, county and private land follow their owners' rules. The table below sets every kind of ground side by side with its citation, and the steps after it show the order in which to check.
Every kind of ground, side by side
| Ground | Casual rock and mineral collecting | Key limits | Source (read Oct 22, 2026 unless dated) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLM public land | Allowed | "Reasonable amounts" for "noncommercial purposes"; no number; no explosive, motorized or mechanical aids except metal detectors; not on developed recreation sites or posted closures | 43 CFR 8365.1-5 [1]; BLM FAQ, Feb 28, 2024 [7] | BLM land |
| Petrified wood on BLM and Reclamation land | Allowed under its own free-use rule | A daily and a yearly weight limit, no pooling, personal use only, no sale | 43 CFR 3622.3, 3622.4 [8][9] | Petrified wood |
| National forest | Allowed | "Only remove small reasonable amounts of material for personal use"; "No mechanical equipment may be used"; no sale; ask the ranger district | FS-1091, June 2017 [2] | National forests |
| National park unit (any title, including seashores and recreation areas) | Prohibited | Bars "removing, digging, or disturbing" a "mineral resource"; metal detectors banned; three narrow exceptions | 36 CFR 2.1 [3]; NPS, Dec 2023 [10] | Parks and monuments |
| BLM national monument | Generally allowed | Reasonable amounts, but "may be prohibited" for "monument objects" | BLM FAQ [7] | Parks and monuments |
| Forest Service national monument | Varies | "collecting may or may not be allowed" | FS-1091 [2] | Parks and monuments |
| BLM wilderness | Generally allowed | "non-motorized hand tools," minimal surface disturbance, per the management plan | BLM FAQ [7] | Tools you may use |
| Forest Service wilderness | Varies | "collecting may or may not be allowed" | FS-1091 [2] | National forests |
| National wildlife refuge | Prohibited unless authorized | "unauthorized removal of any public property including natural objects" prohibited; searching for "valuable semi-precious rocks, stones, or mineral specimens" needs a permit (27.63) | 50 CFR 27.61, 27.63 [4] | Refuges, reservoirs, military |
| Bureau of Reclamation land | Prohibited except as other law allows | Must not "remove, search for, disturb" natural resources; metal detectors banned | 43 CFR 423.29 [6] | Refuges, reservoirs, military |
| Army Corps of Engineers projects | Prohibited without written permission | Removing "natural formations, mineral deposits" needs the District Commander's written permission; detectors only on designated beaches | 36 CFR 327.14 [5] | Refuges, reservoirs, military |
| TVA public land | Not stated for rocks; treat as closed | Metal detectors prohibited; archaeological disturbance a felony | TVA rules page [11] | Refuges, reservoirs, military |
| Military land | Closed unless the installation permits | Installation rules; ordnance hazard | No general published allowance found | Refuges, reservoirs, military |
| Tribal land | Only with the tribe's permission | Tribal law applies; federal public land allowances do not | Not confirmed from a published rule for this page; ask the tribal government | Private land (same written-permission approach) |
| State trust land | Varies by state; closed in some | Arizona: "Rockhounding and metal detecting are not allowed on Arizona State Trust Land" (BLM Arizona brochure) | BLM Arizona, BLM/AZ/GI-14/009 [12] | State rules |
| State park | Set by each state; a few dig-and-keep parks | Example: Crater of Diamonds allows paying visitors to search, up to 5 gallons of processed concentrate a day | Ark. Code R. 013.05.09-003 [13] | State rules; Fee digs |
| County and city land | Varies by ordinance | Parks and open space may prohibit removal; ask the parks department | Local ordinance | State rules |
| Private land | Only with the owner's permission | Get it in writing; the owner may allow sale | FS-1091 on trespass [2] | Private land |
| Fee-dig sites | Allowed on the site's terms | The written terms set tools, limits and resale | Site terms | Fee digs |
| Active mining claim (on BLM or Forest Service land) | Not the claimed minerals, without permission | "exclusive right to the minerals being claimed"; public may cross | BLM MTDK packet, Sept 2024 [14]; BLM [15] | Mining claims |
Two points apply across the table. First, nothing you collect under a free federal allowance is for sale: BLM requires a contract or permit for collecting "for sale or barter to commercial dealers" [1], and the Forest Service says hobby specimens "cannot be bartered or sold" [2]. Second, fossils, meteorites and artifacts have their own rules on every kind of ground, set out in collecting fossils on public land, meteorites on public land and arrowheads and other artifacts.
The order in which to check
Most mistakes come from checking the right things in the wrong order, for example looking up BLM rules for a spot that turns out to be a state section. This sequence avoids that:
- Who manages the surface? Use a land status map and the county parcel viewer. The method is on finding out who manages the ground you are standing on.
- Is it a special designation? Park unit, monument, wilderness, refuge, recreation site. The designation can override the agency's general rule.
- Who owns the minerals? A private mineral estate under federal surface takes the spot out of the BLM allowance [7].
- Is there an active mining claim? Search MLRS for the township, range and section [14].
- Is it closed or restricted? Call the field office or ranger district; closures and local rules are not on most maps [7][2].
- What are you collecting? Rocks and minerals, petrified wood, fossils, meteorites and artifacts each have their own rule.
- What tools will you use? Hand tools are the safe default; see which tools you may use on public land.
- Do you intend to sell? If so, the free allowances do not cover you; see selling material collected on public land.
Write down what you found at each step and when. A dated record supports your labels and answers questions later.
The petrified wood limit is the only federal pound limit
Many published pages give a daily and a yearly pound limit as the BLM rule for rocks and minerals. Those numbers come from 43 CFR 3622.4, which applies only to petrified wood [9]; its figures and conditions are on petrified wood on public land. For rocks, mineral specimens and semiprecious gemstones on BLM land, the rule is "reasonable amounts" with no number [1][7]. One BLM state office, Arizona, publishes its own numeric guideline for rockhounding in that state; that is covered, labeled as the Arizona office's guideline, on collecting on BLM land.
State land is its own question
Federal rules stop at the state line on the map. State trust land, state parks, state beaches and riverbeds follow state law, and the differences are large: some states close trust land entirely, some set gallon limits on beach collecting, and many state parks prohibit removing rocks at all. Each state's rules, sourced to the state agency, are on collecting on state land in all fifty states.
Start with the parcel
Every row of the table depends on knowing whose land you are on, and that is a ten-step check you can do at home: finding out who manages the ground you are standing on.
References
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 43 CFR 8365.1-5 Property and resources (as amended through 87 FR 47329, Aug. 2, 2022), read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/8365.1-5
- USDA Forest Service, *Rockhounding Guide*, FS-1091, June 2017. https://www.fs.usda.gov/media/229394
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 36 CFR 2.1 Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources (as amended through 87 FR 47319, Aug. 2, 2022), read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/2.1
- eCFR, 50 CFR Part 27, Subpart F, sections 27.61 (Destruction or removal of property) and 27.63 (Search for and removal of other valued objects), up to date as of September 3, 2026, read October 22, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-27/subpart-F
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 36 CFR 327.14 Public property (65 FR 6901, Feb. 11, 2000), read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/327.14
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 43 CFR 423.29 Natural and cultural resources, read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/423.29
- Bureau of Land Management, *Public Collection of Rocks, Mineral Specimens, and Semiprecious Gemstones on Public Lands for Noncommercial Purposes: FAQ*, file dated February 28, 2024. https://muleapi.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2024-02/BLM-Rock-Collection-FAQs_2-28-24.pdf
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 43 CFR 3622.3 Designation of areas, read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3622.3
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 43 CFR 3622.4 Collection rules, read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3622.4
- National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, *Recreational Collection of Rocks and Minerals: Legal Instruments*, current as of December 2023, updated January 2, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/recreational-collection-of-rocks-and-minerals-legal-instruments.htm
- Tennessee Valley Authority, *Rules for Use of TVA Public Lands*, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://tva.com/Environment/Environmental-Stewardship/Land-Management/Rules-for-Use-of-TVA-Public-Lands
- Bureau of Land Management, Arizona, *Rockhounding in Arizona*, BLM/AZ/GI-14/009 (no printed date; web file dated 2018). https://BLM.GOV/sites/default/files/documents/files/2014%20Rockhounding_14_web_2018.pdf
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Ark. Code R. 013.05.09-003, *Rules and Regulations Regarding Public Use of the Search Area of the Crater of Diamonds State Park* (PD 2205), read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arkansas/013-05-09-Ark-Code-R-003
- Bureau of Land Management, Montana-Dakotas State Office, *Mining Claim Packet*, September 2024. https://blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2024-09/MTDK%20Mining%20Claims%20Packet%202024.09.pdf
- Bureau of Land Management, *Rockhounding on Public Lands*, read October 22, 2026. https://blm.gov/programs/recreation/rockhounding
