Re: USGS Cuts (from D. Erwin)

[N.MacLeod@xxxxxxxxx (N. MacLeod)]

Comments:     Converted from OV/VM to RFC822 format by PUMP V2.2X
Date:         Fri, 11 Aug 95  10:31:16 EDT
From: Doug Erwin <MNHPB028@SIVM.SI.EDU>
Subject:      Re: USGS Cuts (from W. Elder)
To: <paleonet-owner@NHM.AC.UK>
Status: O

  Just to clarify a point raised by Will Elder in his discussion of the
decimation of USGS paleontology.  USGS collections remain the property
of the USGS and the Department of the Interior until they are formally
turned over to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).  Although
this has always happened in the past, the collections are not ours
until this happens.  As Will correctly points out, at the present time,
we do not have the storage capacity for the extensive (and most wonderful)
USGS collections. It is not unlikely that the future of these collections,
which should be of concern to all paleontologists, will ultimately be
decided by that most deliberative of bodies, the US Congress.
Doug Erwin, NMNH