# Mazonia-Braidwood Fossil Permit Area: legal collecting field guide

Canonical page: https://lithomap.app/resources/field-trips/mazonia-braidwood-fossil-permit-illinois
Last access and rule review: September 18, 2026
Page purpose: Original LithoMap trip-planning reference for an explicitly authorized rock, mineral, or non-dinosaur fossil collecting destination.

## Direct answer

An Illinois DNR permit program for limited surface collection of fossil-bearing concretions in designated erosion areas.

## Location and material

- State: Illinois
- Area: Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area
- Category: Fossil collecting
- Collection status: Collecting allowed
- Expected material: Mazon Creek concretions, Plant fossils, Common invertebrate fossils

## Authorization

Illinois DNR authorizes amateur fossil collecting only under the signed day permit and its site-specific conditions. The permit must be carried and shown on request.

## Access

Use only the units and access points identified by the current permit and site staff. Water levels, hunting programs, restoration, or management work can affect access.

## Tools, limits, and season

- Tools: Surface collection only in erosion areas. Excavation is prohibited; a permit does not authorize cutting banks, digging pits, or entering restricted units.
- Limits: One five-gallon container per person per day under the current permit. Commercial collecting is prohibited, and the permit requires reporting the number of nodules removed.
- Season and current status: Dates and open areas follow the current annual permit and site notices. Confirm them with Illinois DNR before each visit.

## Conditions

- Sign and carry the current day permit.
- Surface collect only in the authorized erosion area.
- Take no more than one five-gallon container.
- Report the required collection count and show unusual material to DNR.

## Geology

Ironstone concretions can preserve Pennsylvanian plants and animals from the Mazon Creek biota.

Most nodules are not diagnostic fossils; opening methods and labels should preserve both halves and the locality record.

## Field plan

1. Download and read every page of the current permit.
2. Confirm the correct unit is open.
3. Collect loose concretions without excavation.
4. Record the required nodule count.
5. Retain both halves and report an exceptional specimen.

## Safety

- Former mine terrain includes steep banks, water, mud, and uneven ground.
- Hunting seasons and site closures can change safe access.
- Do not climb unstable erosion faces.

## Official sources

- Mazonia-Braidwood fossil permit — Illinois Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/parks/activity/documents/mzb-fossilpermit.pdf
- Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area — Illinois Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.mazonia-braidwood.html

This guide is not a permit, reservation, boundary survey, legal opinion, guarantee of access, or promise of a find. Open every official source again before travel. Current signs, closures, permits, claim boundaries, and staff instructions control.