ACCORDING TO THE US GOVERNMENT!!!
Let me start at the begining; Drove 90 miles today on a special day off for the sole purpose of detecting at a park where the water has dropped back beyond the swinning area. Thousands of people visit this site in the summer time, it was a beauitful sunny day, at least five acres of sandy beach and I'm the only one there. I have swung not more than twenty feet and already found two targets and thinking maybe I should go and start at the "not" floating dock and see now many rings fell off there??
Then my dream day comes to a CRASH!! A "NATIONAL PARK RANGER" gets my attention, asks me to remove my headphones and tells me I have to leave, says he could write me a $200.00 plus ticket..... OK I did make a mistake, I do know that in National Parks there is NO metal detecting, NOT even allowed in your vechile, I know that. It was just I have fished out of this park for over 15 yrs and never clicked that is was a "National Park" I always thought of a "National Park" being something like Yellowstone or Mount Rushmore. Not just a sandy beach with a grassy picnic area. So I did mess up! my day received a bad blow, it could have been worst and there could have been a $200.00 ticket on top of everything.
BUT! Driving the 90 miles / 2hrs back home I got to thinking......... I was told that the law exists because someone with a detector stole some artifacts. Basicly something that no one knew it was there, and didn't know where it was, "show up missing" and a fool Treasure Hunter was the idoit at hand. But I wasn't out to STEAL a artifact, no artifacts are within 300 miles of that beach, and no metal artifacts within a 1000 miles safe to say. But yet I was / am considered a risk, untrust worthy and probably a thef because I want to use a metal detector. If I would have shown up with a shovel, maps of where Indians could have camped, history books telling of Indian travels and camping grounds nothing would have happen. But I showed up with a metal detector to look for coins, rings and other jewelry I'm / we are classified as a menace.
Question; how many acreas of national forest, something which is seen, very beauitful, enjoyed by thousands has been burned down by some careless smoker? But I have never heard of someone being fined or there being a law about taking a pack of smokes into a national park. But some artifact if it happens to be metal, which no one knows anything about or where it might be, which no one has seened or enjoyed has to be protected against us evil Treasure Hunters? Maybe if THers were allowed to hunt properly in national parks some of these artifacts might come to light and be enjoyed as history for all to see. But the US government feels you the metal detector user are not that honest, you can't even be trusted to have one in your car on national park property.
Should it be against the law to steal artifacts from government property?........ I think so, yes!
Should Treasure Hunters (are detector owners the only THers?) be singled out as the main offenders of this law?........ Doesn't seem right.
Should there be permits and and guide lines to enjoy this hobby in national parks?........... I don't have a problem with that.
Should we be considered guilty before it's been proven other wises?......... I don't think so.
I have not been at this hobby that long and maybe I dont' know of some movement to get this law modified. Would like a heads up if there is one.
Thanks SteveK
Let me start at the begining; Drove 90 miles today on a special day off for the sole purpose of detecting at a park where the water has dropped back beyond the swinning area. Thousands of people visit this site in the summer time, it was a beauitful sunny day, at least five acres of sandy beach and I'm the only one there. I have swung not more than twenty feet and already found two targets and thinking maybe I should go and start at the "not" floating dock and see now many rings fell off there??
Then my dream day comes to a CRASH!! A "NATIONAL PARK RANGER" gets my attention, asks me to remove my headphones and tells me I have to leave, says he could write me a $200.00 plus ticket..... OK I did make a mistake, I do know that in National Parks there is NO metal detecting, NOT even allowed in your vechile, I know that. It was just I have fished out of this park for over 15 yrs and never clicked that is was a "National Park" I always thought of a "National Park" being something like Yellowstone or Mount Rushmore. Not just a sandy beach with a grassy picnic area. So I did mess up! my day received a bad blow, it could have been worst and there could have been a $200.00 ticket on top of everything.
BUT! Driving the 90 miles / 2hrs back home I got to thinking......... I was told that the law exists because someone with a detector stole some artifacts. Basicly something that no one knew it was there, and didn't know where it was, "show up missing" and a fool Treasure Hunter was the idoit at hand. But I wasn't out to STEAL a artifact, no artifacts are within 300 miles of that beach, and no metal artifacts within a 1000 miles safe to say. But yet I was / am considered a risk, untrust worthy and probably a thef because I want to use a metal detector. If I would have shown up with a shovel, maps of where Indians could have camped, history books telling of Indian travels and camping grounds nothing would have happen. But I showed up with a metal detector to look for coins, rings and other jewelry I'm / we are classified as a menace.
Question; how many acreas of national forest, something which is seen, very beauitful, enjoyed by thousands has been burned down by some careless smoker? But I have never heard of someone being fined or there being a law about taking a pack of smokes into a national park. But some artifact if it happens to be metal, which no one knows anything about or where it might be, which no one has seened or enjoyed has to be protected against us evil Treasure Hunters? Maybe if THers were allowed to hunt properly in national parks some of these artifacts might come to light and be enjoyed as history for all to see. But the US government feels you the metal detector user are not that honest, you can't even be trusted to have one in your car on national park property.
Should it be against the law to steal artifacts from government property?........ I think so, yes!
Should Treasure Hunters (are detector owners the only THers?) be singled out as the main offenders of this law?........ Doesn't seem right.
Should there be permits and and guide lines to enjoy this hobby in national parks?........... I don't have a problem with that.
Should we be considered guilty before it's been proven other wises?......... I don't think so.
I have not been at this hobby that long and maybe I dont' know of some movement to get this law modified. Would like a heads up if there is one.
Thanks SteveK
That sucks.....
