>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)? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -