FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) Findings.— The Congress finds that— (1) fossils are important for scientific studies of prehistoric life on earth; (2) lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the Robledo Mountains in New Mexico contain one of the most important fossil discoveries of the 20th century; (3) discoveries have included prehistoric tracks of amphibians, reptiles, arthropods and insects, extensive plant fossils, and clues to the weather and climate of the period; (4) fossil footprints that form trackways help scientists recreate the environment and habitat that supported prehistoric life; (5) nearly one hundred trackways from the Permian Age have been uncovered in the Robledo Mountains; (6) the trackways are over 280 million years old and they document the emergence of life from water to land; (7) the trackways are unique in length and represent most taxonomic groups, including many prints of previously unknown animals; (8) the trackways and other fossils are being lost for scientific study through unsupervised collecting, and commercial quarrying; and (9) the trackways and fossils found in the Robledo Mountains and surrounding areas should be evaluated for their potential protection and value for scientific interpretation and education. (b) Purposes.— The purposes of this title are to— (1) require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to consider appropriate means to protect the discoveries and identify the scientific, interpretive, and public education values associated with the trackways and fossils located in the Robledo Mountains in southeastern New Mexico; and (2) provide for interim protection of such trackways and fossils.