As used in this subpart, the term:

(a) Authorized officer means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management designated to perform the duties described in this subpart:

(b) Fossil means the remains or trace(s) of an organism or assemblage of organisms which have been preserved by natural processes in the earth's crust. The term does not mean energy minerals, such as coal, oil and gas, oil shale, bitumen, lignite, asphaltum and tar sands, even though they are of biologic origin:

(c) Fossil Forest or Fossil Forest Research Natural Area means those public lands as described in section 103(a) of the San Juan Basin Wilderness Protection Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-603, 98 Stat. 3155).