Re: LA TIMES: Mongolian dinosaur thefts (long)

[Philidor11@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/11/99 2:11:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
bettyc@flyinggoat.com writes:

<< But the remarkable preservation also makes it easier for poachers to
 retrieve the specimens, and the hunt is becoming harder.  >>

Thinking about the difficulty of funding expeditions and the eagerness of the 
poachers because of the money waiting for them.
I know this has been discussed before, but reading about the failure to find 
a way to harness private money for public science is always agonizing.
The simplest approach still seems like the founding of an institute which 
would collect money and fund expeditions.  The fossils would be obtained 
properly, measured, casted, photographed, and registered before being turned 
over to the private collector.  Because most fossils are apparently stored 
rather than exhibited, seems like the actual loss from such an approach would 
be minimal.
Imagine how much more time could be spent on field work, particularly since 
the Institute could let contracts...
Ok, but this still seems to be a problem that really needs solving.