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Stoped by Park Manager

kwaff

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
82
Ok we got stoped by the park manager today, she first said "what are you doing".. kinda shocked I guess she doesn't see many mders.. This is a public park and it doesn't say anywhere you cant md, does she have the right to do this because she said she did??
 
Who owns the park? County, State or Federal? Go from there and track down the rules. She thinks she has the right so you need to prove her wrong if possible. Good luck!
 
I would think she has the right to at least ask what your doing. I get stares from people all the time as if I were an alien. I would think if there is no sign banning m'dng then you can continue searching. Did she make you stop?
 
Yes it is a state park..

Yes she made us stop, she said we cant do it even though I told her we were picking up the trash and we were covering the holes fine.
 
Ok i'll see if I can find em'.. I tried google and came up with nothing, I might just call them up and ask, even though I read their website.
 
Most state parks in CT will allow you to metal detect but not to "damage" the grass so they can tell you to leave. I had a park ranger tell me I could detect a park here but I could not recover the target lol... I said to him what's the sense of detecting and he laughed and walked away. He was a buttwipe ;)
 
in Md. detecting is outlawed in all State Parks except for beach areas, where it is allowed if the local park ranger there allows it.
 
I think its a city park now.. the park is the steele indian school park here in downtown phoenix.
 
I'm not sure about your area, but I know that here in Fairfax County, there is no digging alllowed in Fairfax County Parks. I believe the ban is on relic hunting, but I haven't checked further to see if I can use a metal detector to look for surface coins.

It's a shame, since the park right down the hill from me used to be an army dump site during the civil war.

-- Tom
 
In Indiana, all state parks are off limits, EXCEPT on beach areas. AND you cannot hunt on the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day! And EACH and EVERY PARK has different rules about their permits. You must get one from the individal park you want to hunt. One sent it in the mail and it is good till the end of the year. One sent me an application that I needed to fill out and tell them what day or days I wanted to hunt. I was to send it back, and then they would send me one. How the heck do I know ahead of time when I'm going to hunt????
Another one, you have to go up there on the day you want to hunt, and it's only good for that one day. Another one you can go and pick it up and use it for that day, or the weekend, if that's what you are using it for. But no longer. What's up with this???

Scrltt641
 
Kwaff = here in Tucson detecting is permitted - but not in the county that is all around the city. I dont know how Maricopa county is - call & ask I guess, Steve in so az
 
jeez I had no idea so many areas are off limits. I guess all the more reason everyone should bury there holes and replace the grass plugs as if nobody were there.
 
The park manager is likely to get the support of local law enforcement in backing her up..unless you're ready to do the whole get-a-lawyer rigamarole, it might be best to just find another spot...state parks in N.C. are defiitely off limits, and in my town ALL city prop. is a no detecting zone...I occasionally hunt the parks anyway, but when asked to leave, I just leave.. HH Roadrunner_426
 
True RR, I was just ready to leave buy my crazy brother was like "Do you have the authority to do that" and getting into a fussel, he's a political science major so you know how that goes... I just started walking away, it kinda sucked because we were just working on a dig while busted but five minutes before that we did find this half dollar and ring in the volleyball area :)

The ring I dunno what is yet but it looks kinda cheap and the half dollar is
2001D mint.

digitalpictures379.jpg
 
Oklahoma State parks ask that you get a permit from the Park Office before detecting, most are free, but a couple of parks close to urban areas charge a $5 fee for a year long permit. It's basically a modified day use permit saying you agree to fill your holes and not tear up flower beds or the like. The only caveat is the requirement to turn in any "Indian artifacts". Individual Park Managers have a lot of latitude in what they allow on their turf, but most are friendly and accommodating. They do have to put up with a lot, and you could catch them on a day after they've had trouble with some yahoo, but I've worked with the majority of them at one time or another and have found them to be professional stewards of public lands. That Public with a capital "P".

Here's the link to our Parks site: http://www.oklahomaparks.com/

It's better to contact the individual parks, rather than going through the Departmental Parks Administration offices here in Oklahoma City. Since there doesn't seem to be a blanket policy for all parks, the answer you'd get from admin would be ambiguous at best.
 
i was detecting in a city park in scottsdale in sand where they play volleyball . a policeman on a bicycle ask me what i was doing and why so early in the morning.i told him that when i metal detect i dont like to be hounded by people asking the same questions . "what are you doing and what are you looking for" thats why i detect very early in the morning.he left with a grin on his face.found a money clip(no $) , and some pocket change.have you tried old homes .i get the address and write a letter .you would be surprised .i have been very successful with this method.   nova
 
I'm a police officer in Phoenix and just got into the hobby. Been having a great time and hope to uncover some old coins in the old city parks.

Most city parks here and I would think the rest of the country prohibit people from "removing or damaging" the plants. I come accross this often and wonder if this aplies to MDing.

I guess if a cop or park ranger wants to be an ass, they can enforce this code for digging up the grass despite replacing your plug.

Getting back to the original post. The Ranger has the right to ask what you're doing. Everyone has this right. But they don't neccessarily have the right to "stop" you. Without getting into the topic of legality, all peace officers can "stop" you if they have "reasonable suspicion" a crime/violation has been committed, is about to be committed or is being committed.
 
Daugela: That's where I was at a city park, indian steele park on 3rd st indian school in phoenix.

She stoped us right before I was about to dig a hole. The ground was barely dug. All the holes previously were all covered up completely or leveled out in the volleyball area. We were already asked by a person earlier and we told that person we were covering the holes back up and she was that was o.k. however the park manager I guess had just woke up or something because she was almost hysterical.
 
Kwaff- Did she tell you to leave?

The best action to take in a situation like that is to respect the authority and walk away with your tail between your legs. It's not worth the fight or the bad press for other MDers.....

Now that I'm in the hobby, I'm going to do some legal research in the greater Phoenix area and post what I find.

I'm willing to bet it boils down to how one reads the rules or statues...kinda like debating the Bible.

If I was on duty and got called to confront MDers about damaging the park, I'd look at the totality of the circumstances and make a prudent decision.

If the MDer was digging a 6 foot by 6 foot hole, I'd say no way! Despite putting back the HUGE plug. It's discretion.

James
 
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