I’m curious about a message I received asking me to collect something (I actually know they were wrong, and I legally cannot do what they were asking me to do, and told them thusly) but they referenced some overarching iNat rules on collecting specimens which I cannot find, specifically they said: …

@elias105 @kerrycrax @lythronax246 FWIW - I did send a note to help@inat as suggested, and I did say there were others who got the same message who posted on a thread I made here. iNat is looking into it because it is indeed not okay that the person is saying (effectively) that ‘according to iNat yo…

[image] zdanko: You shouldn’t need a permit to collect in National Forests For species designated as common animals and plants, US National Forests “support state permitting requirements”.

[image] zdanko: This is a true statement. You shouldn’t need a permit to collect in National Forests. The national forest near me actually requires a plant collection permit :) Most states allow collections in National Forests, so it tends to be assumed all, but actually, not all. Alabama is…

[image] zdanko: You shouldn’t need a permit to collect in National Forests. Depends on the plant/material. Here in North Carolina, permits are required for gathering of botanical products (specifically ginseng, galax, blood root, black cohosh, ramps, firewood - this last one probably due to r…

For what it’s worth, some of the comments describing U.S. Forest Service rules at the state level seem a little odd, to me. The hierarchy in the Forest Service is: nation: region: forest. “State” isn’t in the hierarchy, so generally speaking Forest Service decisions are not happening at the state le…

(It occurs to me that there’s at least one National Forest, Humboldt – Toiyabe, that crosses Forest Service region boundaries. What happens in that case, I do not know. It might not be safe to assume that a decision made at the region level applies to the entirety of a state even when the region and…

I think I was messaged about the same thing! Was it about Ghost Pipe plants (genus Monotropa?) I was kinda put off by the request, so I didn’t respond. I think they were asking me to check the flowers for certain insects or something.

I received one professional message about collecting a milkweed longhorn beetle, but I haven’t seen any since to help the researchers. Obviously, if it’s something you are uncomfortable with, ignore the request or politely explain why they are incorrect about local laws.

A year or two prior, we received a request from a University (student researcher) to collect milkweed seeds in support of research on hybridization. We didn’t do any research on permitting. We simply replied that the land was owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy and that the researchers cou…

If a researcher wants you to collect something on their behalf, and you’re at least half-way willing to do so, I would put the burden on them to look into the legality of it and provide the documentation supporting it. You shouldn’t have to do the work of ensuring that your collecting won’t get you…

iNat "Collection Guidelines"? (as in, taking things)

General

anon93074988 September 29, 2022, 6:28am 15

Do what you feel is right, and that you know is legal. Personally, I leave it as I find it. Maybe that hurts our ability to do science - well so be it.

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iNat "Collection Guidelines"? (as in, taking things)

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