CFMS Newsletter

Table of Contents
President's Message From the Editor All American Report Junior Activities Report Perspectives Try a Club Awareness Project Safety Entering Competition - First Time Membership	America the Beautiful Pass Inter-refional Field Trips Program Aids Member Recognitiion Golden Bear Awards Slide and Video Program Library CFMS Insurance CFMS Rules Committee Finding Rock Hunting Maps on Internet

President's Message

By Bural LaRue, CFMS President

Are you having fun yet? If not, how about taking a field trip?!

We have received several emails this past week from club members who are leaving for Quartzsite. This is a great place to visit and there are lots of places to visit from now until the middle of February. You can extend your trip by driving on down to Tucson to visit the shows taking place in that city throughout most of February. I'm sure you'll probably see a few old friends along the way and meet a few new ones.

Can't go to Quartzsite or Tucson? You can try a local trip; it doesn't even have to be a collecting trip. Take yourself and/or your fellow club members to a local museum or even the zoo. There are lots of small museums ready to welcome you. You will find that any trip you take will bring your club members closer together and keep them wanting to remain part of the organization.

If there aren't any museums nearby or you feel this type of trip wouldn't be of interest, consider visiting a nearby club show. The CFMS Newsletter lists the club shows by location and date; the shows are also posted on the CFMS website at www.cfmsinc.org both on the "crawler" at the bottom of the home page and on a page link you can click on.

Life is too short to just sit at home. Remember this year we're "gonna" have fun! Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

From the Editor

Once again, "thanks!" to everyone who submitted articles for this month's newsletter. It appears obvious that several contributors will be "regulars" throughout the year while others will be sending articles to me "as the situation warrants". Let me invite those club members who aren't officers, directors or chairpersons to submit articles that you believe would be of value to fellow rockhounds. It would really enhance the newsletter!

All American Report

By Dot Beachler

After a review of the All American report these past months, the time has come to assemble these papers in a notebook.

The notebook should have six section dividers, numbered one through six. After each section is recorded, supporting material should follow in that section.

In filling out each section, there is no limit to the number of pages. Pages may be one or two-sided including text and graphics. The maximum number of pages in the notebook is 100.

Remember, this report is for the year 2007. These instructions and report pages are available on the CFMS website (cfmsinc.org).

ALL BOOKS ARE DUE FEBRUARY 28, 2008.

Junior ActivitiesReport

By Jim Brace-Thompson

Ideas for Kids Booth at the 2008 CFMS Show
& a Request for Materials

Last month, I noted I'd provide a preview of plans for the Kids Booth at our 2008 CFMS Show in June. My idea is to have a combination of educational displays and hands-on activities tied both to our FRA Merit Badge program and to those for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. With that in mind, here's what's currently on the whiteboard! We'll have a group of tables set up in a rectangle, interspersing display cases with space for associated activities. These might include:

Educational Displays:

Earth processes, with samples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks to illustrate the rock cycle and the three rock types.
Mineral identification, featuring Moh's scale, crystal shape, color, streak, cleavage, etc.
Earth resources, showing everyday objects and rocks and minerals that went into them.
Fossils and the geological time scale, exhibiting fossils from the 3 major eras, as well as the Precambrian, arrayed along a geological timeline.
Lapidary arts, showing easy projects for kids: cabbing, beading, soft-stone sculpture, etc.
Our state rockhound emblems, with a poster guiding kids to the CFMS display case holding the Golden Bear nugget on serpentine, as well as benitoite and Smilodon (along with free serpentine samples to hand out to kids).

Hands-on Activities:

Earth processes might be featured via a model of a volcano kids can erupt with vinegar and baking soda, along with samples of basalt and/or cinders to take home.
Mineral identification would have hands-on samples for kids to play with, for instance, to see how mica cleaves, to compare the hardness of gypsum with quartz, to assemble crystal shapes from cut-out models, and so forth.
Earth resources may have kids making toothpaste (Izzie Burns has promised a recipe!)
Fossils might include a "Paint-a-Fossil" activity, or making fossil casts in plaster, or dinosaur stencils and stamps, or perhaps making T rex bag puppets.
Lapidary arts might have materials for kids to craft simple bead necklaces or bracelets with pre-assembled kits in baggies of string, beads, and bell caps on tumbled stones.
Collecting: to help kids start or augment a collection of their own, we'll have the usual sorts of kids activities where they can win rock prizes, including a spinning wheel, sand sifting, and grab bags, with volunteers on hand to identify and label kids' rock prizes and with milk cartons or other containers to store their prizes and labels together.
Coloring book station: finally, we'll want a free coloring station with color book pages, word puzzles, and similar pages related to rocks, minerals, and fossils.

To do all this, I'll need help! Help both in securing materials and in running the booth. Please contact me (805-659-3577, jbraceth@roadrunner.com) to volunteer your assistance in either regard. For materials, I can use all manner of tumble-polished stones, as well as small specimens of basalt, serpentine, mica, gypsum, quartz crystals, petrified wood, beads, and anything you think would make for great sand-sifting and spinning wheel prizes. Let's give kids some great stuff - along with some great fun!

"Perspectives"

By Shirley Leeson, CFMS Historian

CFMS HISTORY FROM LONG AGO
( CFMS COMPETITION and when it started.)

Recently, I was researching information on how the Indian Wells Gem and Mineral Society got started. As I searched thru early Mineral Notes and News, I came across an interesting item……

February, 1947

Jack Streeter prepared the following classifications for competitive exhibits for the CFMS Federation Show in May at Santa Barbara.

Class 1 - Society Exhibits
Material must belong to the society or to three or more members.
Class 2 - Minerals
All types and all sizes
Class 3 - Crystals
Single or in groups
Class 4 - Polished Slabs or Flats
This must be the work of the exhibitor
lass 5 - Cabochons
Work done by the Exhibitor
Class 6 - Faceted Stones
Work done by the Exhibitor
Class 7 - Novelties
Spheres, book ends, etc. Work done by the Exhibitor
Class 8 - Minerals from the state in which the exhibitor lives.
Such as minerals all from California, or all from Nevada.
Class 9 - Minerals from one locality
(Examples of localities would be Pala and Mesa Grande in San Diego County, The Mother Lode, Franklin Furnace, or Bisbee, Arizona).
Class 10 - Jewelry Craft
Must contain a mounted stone. Each exhibit can consist of the work of one or two people. Stone and mounting must be the work of the exhibitors.
Class 11 - Fluorescent Exhibit
Class 12 - Rare Minerals and unusual localities.
Class 13 - Minerals
All types but limited as to size. Each specimen must be 2 inches by 2 inches or smaller. This is for the benefit of the collector who does not collect large specimens.
Class 14 - Dana Collection
(Minerals must carry the Dana number and be arranged to the Dana System).
Class 15 - Junior Collection
(For exhibitors age 15 and under). A general collection of minerals and polished material.
Class 16 - Guest Exhibit
Open to anyone not a member of any society in the federation. This may be an exhibit of minerals or polished material.
Class 17 - Best dealers display of minerals for sale.
This is open to all dealers taking commercial space at the convention.

Class 2 to 15 for individuals who are members of the societies.

Compare these early Rules to what has evolved today, and you can see we've come a long way since 1947. I've heard people say, "if the rules were only easier." But they have become complex because of everyone interpreting their own thoughts as to what the simple rule really meant. And now there are divisions and categories to choose from. Have you thought about putting in a competitive exhibit at the show in Ventura?

We in California can be proud of those who have exhibited competitively, especially the past three years. Many of the other regional federations have dwindled to almost nothing. Don't let competition die. Competitive exhibits have been the example of what we should all strive for. If not for competition, where would exhibits be? Many of you probably don't remember when exhibitors laid out their specimens on a blanket, sheet or other material on a table, and stood behind them to talk about what it was they were exhibiting.

Try a Club Awareness Project

By John Eichhorn, Santa Clara Valley G&MS

Have your club members participate in a group project that will increase the public and government awareness of the Rockhounds hobby. Organize and donate a display case of minerals related to your specific collecting areas.

This project idea was the result of a meeting with Erik Zaborsky and Brian White of the Hollister California BLM field office and BAM (Bay Area Mineralogists), along with members of other San Francisco Bay Area rock clubs.

The purpose of the meeting was to gather opinions and ideas about the use, maintenance, and possible closure of the Clear Creek Recreation Area. This area is a unique and important source for all Rockhounds. One of the ideas stressed by the BLM officers was a need for participation by specific use groups in making your voice heard by the government. They want evidence showing a need for our use, (and their jobs), to pass up the line. In other words "the squeaky wheel gets greased".

Clubs can volunteer to donate items, have volunteer work days to help maintain, clean, and give opinions on the use of rock collecting areas.

The Santa Clara Valley Gem and Mineral Society's idea was to donate a display cabinet of minerals, specifically collected from the BLM Clear Creek Special Recreation Management Area. We chose a wall hanger oak curio cabinet with a mirrored back and six glass shelves. (Lincoln model by billscustomwoodworks.com). John Eichhorn organized the proposal and the purchase of the case by the club, along with the continued correspondence with the BLM office; Rick Kennedy provided specimens and the expertise in the identification and site location; Frank Mullaney provided labels with the name and collection area along with a dedication plaque.

The case of Clear Creek specimens was presented to Lesly Smith, Outdoor Recreation Planner, and installed on the wall of the Hollister field office lobby in December, 2007. This mineral display case project provides an excellent example of how we can provide or improve public and government awareness of our clubs and the use of our lands. A donated display project makes our presence seen and heard.

Get your club involved in a display project related to your particular collecting areas. Find BLM field offices, state or federal parks, county and city parks, libraries, museums and/or schools that need a donated display. How about where you go for distant field trips? These areas have all of the above.

A display project could even be a collaborative effort by regional groups. Our cost estimate for a wall hanging curio cabinet is around three hundred dollars, with the specimens and labels being donated by club members.

Get your club members involved in a group project. Start a donated club "awareness" display case .

Safety

By Chuck McKie

A bunch of us plan to take off for our rock hounding trips in the next few months; some of us have already gone. I found this about Home Fire Safety under City of Phoenix Safety and will modify it for our RVs:

Make Your Motorhome/trailer "Fire Safe"

Smoke alarms save lives.

Install a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area and on each additional level of your home.
If people sleep with the doors closed, install smoke alarms inside sleeping areas, too.
Use the test button to check each smoke alarm once a month.
When necessary, replace batteries immediately.
Replace all batteries once a year.
Vacuum away cobwebs and dust from your smoke alarms monthly.
Smoke alarms become less sensitive over time. Replace your smoke alarms every ten years.
Consider having one or more working fire extinguishers in your home.
Get training from the fire department on how to use them.

Plan Your Escape Routes (although RVers don't really have much choice).

Determine at least two ways to escape from every room of your home.
Consider escape ladders for sleeping areas on the second or third floor.
Learn how to use them and store them near the window.
This might be effective for fifth wheeled trailers if your windows open.
Most RVs now have emergency escape windows.
Select a location outside your home where everyone would meet after escaping.
Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
Escape Safely (That's an order!)
Once you are out, stay out! Call the fire department from a neighbor's home.
If you see smoke or fire in your first escape route, use your second way out.
If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke to your exit.
If you are escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it.
If it is warm, use your second way out.
If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed. Signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at the window. If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and tell them where you are.
Contact your Local Red Cross Chapter for more information on home fire prevention and safety.
If you are in your RV, getting OUT is the number one priority.

Entering Competition for the First Time

By Dick Friesen, CFMS Rules Committee

Entering competition for the first time can feel like a really difficult thing to do. How do I find all the information I need? Is my work good enough? How should I set up my case? What are the Judges looking for? These and other questions may seem so difficult that you don't even start. Don't let the questions keep you from this fun side of our hobby.

The rules and much exhibiting information is readily available in the AFMS Uniform Rules, a document that is available to anyone on the AFMS web site free or for a small fee from Pat LaRue. Your club Director or club shop may have a copy. If one of your club members has entered competition or is a Judge, they may have a copy they can lend you (or, better yet, they would probably be happy to help you get the information you need). Anticipate needing some help interpreting the rules; even experienced Judges sometimes have problems.

I think one thing that keeps many people from competing is the feeling that they don't have a good enough piece of work. Well, maybe you do and maybe you don't. Don't let that stop you, there were probably a lot of things you didn't know how to do before you went to school; think of competition as just another form of school.

There are three levels of competition: Novice, Advanced, and Master. Pick the level that you think best applies to you. Do your best workmanship and showmanship; get the best advice you can from those around you, and enter your work. Expect that the Judges will find some problems with your case, but also expect that they will give you written information about your case and how to improve it. There is a Judge-Exhibitor meeting on Saturday around noon. Go to the meeting; talk to the Judges about your case and listen to their comments about how to improve your display. Use the information to improve your exhibit and bring it back next year.

It can sometimes be hard to understand that no matter how good your work is, it must conform to the rules the Judges use to judge your case. You may have a perfect "widget", but if the rules say it is "out of class" don't put it in or enter in another class where it is allowed.

Don't think that the only reason you are going into competition is to get a trophy. The trophy is your reward for your hard work. The larger benefit comes to you and your club when you show your work back in your own show. Look around your own show; you may be surprised to find out how many of the best displays have been past winners or are by people that have won with other displays.

Membership

By Omer Goeden

Several months ago, a very dear and close friend died; he was a very dyed-in-the-wool rockhound. I knew there was to be a garage sale.

Well the time came and I was anxious to get on the road [I live 35 miles away], first one thing then another got in my way and I didn't get there until late in the afternoon. Of course, it was closed; but Kay and I got a chance to talk to his daughter. The talk started out talking about her father; then we talked about the years he belonged to our club.

(Now you are wondering when I am going to get to the point of the article).

Some of our new members showed up at the sale and Bill's Daughter talked to some of them. She was told that we are a nice club, kinda clickish [new word], and that no one talks to the new members.

Now we are at the subject of this article:

Be friendly!
Talk to them!
Ask if there is anything they would like to know!
If you have coffee and cookies at these breaks, take them over to get a cup of coffee OR punch and cookie!
What better time to get acquainted?!

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
The National Parks and Recreational Lands Annual Pass

(from the website: www.usgs.gov): The America The Beautiful Pass is a suite of annual and lifetime passes that provides U.S. citizens and visitors an affordable and convenient way to access Federal recreation lands. Between 80% and 100% of the Pass program's proceeds are used to improve and enhance visitor recreation services.

What passes and materials are included in the program?

Annual Pass ($80.00 - anyone 16 years and older can purchase)
Senior Pass ($10.00 - valid for the lifetime of the pass owner; must be 62+ older, U.S. citizen, & a permanent resident)
Access Pass (Free for lifetime with documentation of permanent disability, U.S. citizens & permanent residents)
Volunteer Pass (earned with 500+ hours of volunteer service in public lands)
Hangtags (used as way to display passes at un-staffed areas)
Annual Pass Decals (for Annual Pass owners with open-top vehicles to use in un-staffed areas only).

What do the passes cover?

Each pass - Annual, Senior, Access, and Volunteer - admits pass owner/s and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per-vehicle fee areas; and pass owner + 3 adults, not to exceed 4 adults, where per-person fees are charged. (Children under 16 are always admitted free).

Inter-Refional Field Trips

By Dick Pankey

Tri-Federation Rockhound Rendezvous and Field Trip

Sign-ups for the Tri-Federation Rockhound Rendezvous and Field Trip are starting to come in. Some clubs are coming as a group and will continue on to other collecting areas after the Rendezvous. I hope that you and your club are making plans to attend what promises to be a unique and special rockhound experience. This trip is a repeat of our 2003 Rendezvous. We are going to a well-known collecting area that has some pretty spectacular material. The weather should be just right - springtime, the hills are still green and the wild flowers in bloom. We are relying on the bulletin editors and field trip chairmen to help get the word out about this unique adventure. The two-page Field Trip flier is available on the AFMS, CFMS, NFMS and RMFMS web pages. This flier has all the details about the trip, directions to our campsite and other useful information.

There were two activities mentioned in the flier that I would like to explain in more detail. On Friday and Saturday afternoons, we will conduct our Tailgate Displays. We will have rockhounds from all over the western United States that I am sure have collected some unique and interesting material from their home area. Bring along some specimens to show and share at the tailgate display. This will also be a good time to conduct the "map exchange". Map exchanges are easy - to get a map you have to give a map. Before you leave home prepare a good, detailed map of a good, unique or little known collecting area that you are familiar with. The map should be a detailed hand or computer drawn map with accurate mileages, GPS coordinates are very desirable, and be sure to note collecting site details and campsites where appropriate. Bring along as many maps as you would like to receive. I plan to bring 100 copies of my map. I am sure there will be a lot of informal exchanges of collecting sites, GPS info, and sharing of great places to go and see.

A highlight of the 2003 trip was the great Dutch oven dinner prepared for us by Bill Roach from the BLM. And he will do it again! He will put on our Friday evening dinner. A not-to-be-missed experience!! I have also scheduled two speakers from the BLM to give talks on the history and lore of this area and the California Trail.

This trip is open to members and guests of all the Federations. Everyone who agrees to adhere to the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Code of Ethics, abide by the direction of the field trip leaders, and practice safe rockhounding is welcome to attend.

Please notify me or one of the other Federation leaders no later than May 16th if you plan to attend. You can e-mail (or call) if you have questions or need more information. Don't wait - do it now. This will be a great opportunity for rockhounds from all over the west (and all of the Federations of the AFMS) to meet one another, to share stories, and information about collecting in their home areas. Be sure to bring material from your favorite collecting sites to show and share.

Come join us for a great Tri-Federation Rendezvous of collecting, fun and fellowship!!

Dick Parks, Northwest Federation
Packrats2@msn.com
360-892-3716

Yonis Lone Eagle, Rocky Mountain Federation
rockymountainrockhounds@yahoo.com
505-860-2455

Richard Pankey, California Federation
dickpankey@juno.com
925-439-7509

Program Aids

By Cheri George

Oh wow, it's 2008! What a year this is going to be, with the CFMS Golden Bear Show in June at Ventura and the publishing of the new Podium People 2008 Brochure. I look forward to being able to present it to our membership at the June Meeting. The speaker letters have been sent out and I look forward to receiving the replies for our list of speakers for the next years.

Also, at the June meeting, I hope to be able to present the Programs Report for 2007. That, of course, depends entirely on the number of Program Chairpersons who respond to the Program Report contained in the current Podium People Brochure. I believe it is on the page XX at the back of the brochure. I appreciate all the Program Chairpersons who send in their report; it helps me to find new speakers and tells us how many times the currently listed speakers go out to talk.

Remember that we are always on the lookout for new speakers to add to our list. All you need to do is provide me with their Name, Address, and email and I will contact them.

Hope you all are having a great 2008 so far!!

Member Recognition

By Loretta Ogden

Since I have taken over the position of chairperson for the AFMS Rockhound of the Year, I have had a chance to see what other federations do. We are holding our own; but if it continues as it has, we will be following the Eastern Federation. Come on you guys; your members deserve the attention. Make your member proud; make yourselves proud; and make me proud. Please!

Golden Bear Awards

By Jeane Stultz

The Golden Bear Award is presented each year at the summer Convention and Show to a CFMS member who has contributed outstanding services to the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies over the years. This is a very special award that is meant to honor a person who has given extraordinary service to the Federation and does not reflect the ways a person may have worked to support the Earth Sciences outside of the CFMS.

Nominations for this award may be made by the Executive Committee, a Federation Director or by a CFMS Committee Chairman, and shall be sent to Golden Bear Committee Chairman Jeane Stultz; 757 Bellagio Terrace; Redding, CA 96003; with supporting qualifications for the Golden Bear Award.

This award is meant to be a surprise to the recipient, so please don't let the person you wish to nominate know about it! Nominations must be submitted by May 15th to be considered for the 2008 Golden Bear Award. I hope to hear from a lot of you with nominations for some really outstanding and worthy CFMS members who deserve recognition for their service to the California Federation.

CFMS Slide and Video Program Library

By Bill Gissler

Recent Additions to Program Library

Six Paleo World series programs were recently given by the AFMS to the CFMS Slide and Video Library. The programs, in VHS format, were purchased using AFMS Endowment Funds. The running time of each is approximately 30 minutes. Following are the order numbers, titles and descriptions of program content. These programs are now available on loan from the CFMS Slide and Video Library:

V-136 AMBER HUNTERS.
Paleontologists are using fossilized tree resin, amber, because it is a superb record of life on earth millions of years ago. It is also the only substance which preserves DNA from the time of the dinosaurs. In the Dominican Republic, Roy Larimer and Manuel Itturalde Vincent travel to hazardous amber mines deep in the mountains, on a mission to find new life forms embedded in amber millions of years old.

V-137 DINO DOCTORS.
From the smallest notch on a giant fossil, paleontologists can infer the most amazing details of the long-missing parts of a dinosaur--nervous systems, vital organs, giant musculature, and even how well they can hear and see. High-tech medical equipment like CAT scan is now letting us see inside the head of a T. Rex and into the unhatched embryos of dinosaur eggs, allowing us to put together a sort of "Gray's Anatomy" of a dinosaur.

V-138 TREASURE ISLAND.
Madagascar, known as the Great Red Island, was once home to extraordinary and weird creatures found nowhere else on earth. How and why these creatures arrived in Madagascar is one of the greatest mysteries in natural history-- a mystery David Krause and his team are trying to solve. Camping out under the summer stars in 1996, the team returns to the hills around Berivotra to unearth more unique fossils from this Madagascan treasure trove.

V-139 MONSTERS ON THE MOVE.
Paleontologist Martin Lockley specializes in examining and deciphering dinosaur track-ways. These track-ways are often in remote places, but sometimes they are right alongside major highways. By studying tracks made by dinosaurs, Lockley is able to translate them into dinosaur behavior and unlock the mysteries of dinosaur migration: where they were moving, why, and which dinosaurs moved in herds, packs, or walked alone.

V-140 THE LEGENDARY T. REX.
Known from fewer than ten fossil specimens, T. Rex has nonetheless run amok in the popular imagination. From Godzilla the fire-breathing film star of the 50s, to Sue, the latest and greatest Rex discovery of them all, these dinos were the perfect predators--or were they? T. Rex was heavily built (despite those runty arms), and its legs indicate that it was capable of great bursts of speed. Its powerful neck supported a massive head, which harbored knifelike teeth that were replaced throughout its life. Is this the body of a fierce hunter or a lowly scavenger? The debate is ongoing, even as we learn more intimate details about this creature.

V-141 MAMMOTHS.
Most people associate mammoths with red-haired, shaggy-coated creatures that roamed the frozen steppes of Eastern Europe, disappearing during the Ice Age. But until only 11,000 years ago mammoths were alive and well in America. How did they get there and why did they disappear? Nobody can be sure what finally killed them off. Was it climate, natural disasters or the cruel hand of the early Clovis hunters who first occupied America? The mammoth site in South Dakota provides clues to the mysteries of the past.

CFMS Insurance

By Patt McDaniel

How are directors and officers covered on the Federation's Insurance policy?

The General Liability policy that covers all the Federation clubs, includes directors and officers as insureds. This would include the directors and officers of the Federation and the directors and officers of the member clubs. The General Liability policy has a section that lists who is insured on the policy. The Federation, as an organization, is an insured as are the clubs and societies that we have listed on the policy. If your club is on that list, the contact person for your club (provided to us by the Federation) was mailed a "Certificate of General Liability Insurance" which states near the bottom that your club is an insured on the Federation policy. This policy also covers, as insureds, those who volunteer on behalf of an insured organization while they are performing their voluntary activities. This is not the exact policy wording but the policy wording of "who is insured" is listed in your club brochure. This brochure is mailed with your club certificate. It is important to understand what kinds of coverages organizations and individuals are insured for on the General Liability policy. The main portion of the coverage provides defense for insureds and pays legitimate claims on behalf of insureds in the event they are held legally responsible for bodily injury or property damage to other parties.

The clubs are also offered the opportunity to participate in the Directors and Officers Liability policy. The name is confusing but it provides a different kind of coverage for directors and officers. It does not provide protection for legal liability for bodily injury and property damage. It covers directors and officers for the additional legal responsibility they take on in their positions as directors and officers. Basically, this is coverage for their acts and decisions in their position of responsibility for due diligence, fidelity to the organization, responsible financial management, etc. We have produced two brochures on this subject and they are both available on the CFMS website or by contacting McDaniel Insurance Services. Your organization's officers will want to review this material to help them decide if your club should purchase this optional additional coverage.

CFMS Rules Committee

By

IT'S TIME TO UPDATE YOUR AFMS RULES BOOKS!

This year, there are approximately 15 pages that have been updated. Many are "housekeeping" pages; for example: updating who is now on the AFMS Uniform Rules Committee and some just correcting spelling errors, etc.

The important areas of concern to YOU are the changes in the Scrimshaw, Petrified Wood and Education sections. You have three ways to receive these new pages:

You can download, as a group, all the new pages from the AFMS Website, amfed.org;
You can download complete sections of the Rule Book, and the new pages are included in these sections, via AFMS Website, amfed.org;
Or, you can contact Pat LaRue, CFMS Supplies, and she'll send you the new pages at a nominal cost for copying and mailing.

We're hoping you have already started working on your competitive displays for our CFMS Show in Ventura. Don't wait till the last minute. It takes time to put an attractive, educational and prize-winning exhibit together.

Any questions? Contact me at: beauholland@salmoninternet.com and shirleyleeson@msn.com and I'll get back to you. If you need to write me, do so at: P.O. Box 23, Tendoy, ID 83468 (the post office won't forward from La Mesa to Tendoy, so if mail is sent to La Mesa, it will sit till we get back…..)

Finding Rock Hunting Maps on the Internet

By Gllen Miller

Here are some tips for locating free online maps (primarily USA). The good news is that there is a federal program that publishes digital products online that will provide complete national coverage. The bad news is that it is a federal program, subject to manpower and funding constraints, but it is a very good start. The Internet is a source for many maps of other countries. I have viewed geological maps of Oman and even the Moon and Mars online.

Geological and Geophysical Maps - Finding The Map you need: Traditionally, one went to a state bookstore to purchase a paper map hoping it was still in print. The trend today is to publish them online with free access! Tennessee will no longer be printing maps in advance. Maps that aren't online can be purchased for $20 a map, printed straight from a digital file.

"About.com" = the quick and easy solution for links to state geological maps. About.com pre-searches and assembles all types and classes of information. If you go to their Geology or Maps sections and poke around, there are pages for state geological maps and state geological organizations. There is also with similar sources. They also list state authorities and links to their websites. Once in those websites, you may frequently find a free downloadable map for the local area you are looking for. The USGS has taken great steps to centralize the search for geological maps.

Vol. XLV, No. 2 --- February 2008