>I would like to hear of examples in which museums solicited
>donations of natural history objects and subsequently
>sought to get criminal charges brought against the donor
>because they suspected the objects were found on public
>land.

By state law, we cannot accept items which were not legally
acquired by the donor, and for which we cannot document
legal title.

>Is this considered ethical, or should the museum notify the
>donors that there is not adequate locality data prior to
>accepting the donation?

I've informed potential donors that if they tell me they've
committed a crime, such as illegally importing an artifact
or possessing an illegal weapon, I will be obligated to
report any information I have to the proper authorities.

>Do Museums receive money from the government for
>maintaining collections of natural history objects that are
>claimed to be government property?

Federal agencies paying repositories to take care of federal
property?  What a startling idea.  Where do we sign up (he
said, cynically)?


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C. L. Dill, Museum Director
State Historical Society of North Dakota
612 East Boulevard
Bismarck  ND  58505-0830
P: (701)328-2666
F: (701)328-3710
E:  [log in to unmask]
Visit our Web site at: http://www.state.nd.us/hist/
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