Permits & rules
How heavy is 25 pounds of rock?
The BLM casual-use story is 25 pounds per day plus one piece, 250 per year. Most people cannot eyeball 25 pounds of agate.
Field reality
- A full 5-gallon bucket of dense agate / jasper is often over 25 pounds.
- Petrified wood logs are worse. One “plus one piece” can be the whole day.
- Wet material weighs more than the dry pile you remember at home.
How to stay honest
- Put a cheap hanging scale in the kit, or weigh the bucket at the truck.
- Sort in the wash. The cap is easier if you leave B-grade behind.
- One nice piece can be the “plus one.” Don’t also fill the bucket to the rim.
This is the page that keeps a good day from becoming a conversation with a ranger.
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