From the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals:
The en banc court stayed proceedings and certified the following question to the Montana Supreme Court:
Whether, under Montana law, dinosaur fossils constitute “minerals” for the purpose of a mineral reservation.
OK, so I’m a dinosaur geek, retired, so this is interesting all on its own. After all, a fossil is the result of bone, and sometimes flesh, being transformed into stone. Yet, the purpose of minerals within Western Civ is tangibly different from that of fossils, although I suppose one could make the case that fossils have more than a paleontological or collectors’ value.
But this also reminds me of a story that my Arts Editor’s Uncle Tim was telling us at a family get-together once, and it boils down to this, homeowners: you may think when you buy your house, you own the land – but you may not own the minerals beneath it! Here’s an explanatory page on the matter, which sort of tempts me to pursue it, just to see who could force me off my land just to exploit the minerals beneath it.
Hmmmmmmm.
