A field guide to who owns the ground
Across the western states the dirt all looks like public land. Some of it is BLM. Some of it is state trust land. Some of it is a park where the pretty chip in the gravel is still the exhibit. This guide is for that moment before the bucket comes out.
The federal basics travel with you: BLM casual use, hand tools, no selling the take, and mining claims on the same map. State trust lands, state parks and field offices do not. Each state hub covers its own land types, agencies and named sites.
BLM, SITLA trust land, state and national parks, Grand Staircase–Escalante and Bears Ears, and the named west-desert beds. Start here · 2026 monument changes · free cheat sheet
Photo: Lionel Powell, BLM Utah, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
BLM, state lands, parks, refuges, monuments and claims. Why there’s no SITLA · Virgin Valley opal · Garnet Hill
Photo: BLM Nevada, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
BLM's written 25/250 rule, State Trust Land (no collecting), Petrified Forest, BLM monuments, refuges and military ranges. State Trust Land · Petrified wood · Arizona BLM
Photo: BLM Arizona, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
BLM's “reasonable day,” the O&C checkerboard, the one-gallon beach agate rule, Crater Lake and John Day Fossil Beds, and Hart Mountain's 7 lb refuge rule. Sunstone · Beach agates · Oregon BLM
Photo: Lisa McNee, BLM Oregon & Washington, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Idaho and Wyoming hubs are on the way. Until then: Colorado BLM basics.
Owner, overlay, claim, cap, exit. Five checks.
A full bucket is often already over the daily cap.
Personal use only. Selling the take is a different line.
Hammer and shovel yes. Motor no.
Still says BLM. Collecting can still be closed.
BLM on the map. Someone else may already have the minerals.
BLM on the map. Someone else may already have the minerals.
Fee site rules are not the BLM 25-pound rule.
Bucket, screens, boots, cooler, maps. One pick each, and why the cheap version fails.
Download ownership before the bars disappear.
1/2" and 1/4". Leave the dirt in the wash.
Day hunt vs overnight. Ice in 100°F cab heat.
Bucket, lid, crate. A full bucket is often already over the cap.
Basalt, cinders, goatheads. Work-boot crossover vs trail boot.
Not legal advice. Confirm current rules with BLM, the Forest Service, the state trust-land, parks or wildlife agency, and whoever manages the parcel before you go. Rules change.
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