the dunes FL.

[wailinmacs]

feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. you cant walk, detect,dig in the dunes. the seaoats that grow there are protected by the state therefore cant be disturbed. seaoats very important because they hold the dune together. is there any thing else on the dune that's protected? is the whole dune system under protection by the state?

the reason i ask this is, not every bit of dune has seaoats growing on it. there are special permits to get if you want to build something on the dune (house,boardwalk,lifeguardtower,condo). they have to replant some seaoats when they re done. so its not completely offlimits. maybe one could even get a permit from the state to search or even dig in the dune and pay for any seaoats they might harm. that's probably a longshot but what if your digging next to a lifeguard tower or a home on the dune but nowhere near a seaoat. are you still breaking the law? is that fair? can we change it?

 

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[billinstuart]

Anything above the mean high water is not public property. You're trespassing, particularly in South Florida.

 

[tac512ltd]

I didn't want to get into a pi.....ng match, as sometimes happens on the threads, but I think billinstuart made a very generic reference to the dune line issue. Being in Boca I'm sure you know of the many PUBLIC PARKS, I'm most familiar with the north county areas, whose facilities lie right in the middle of the dunes and sea oats. Jupiter Inlet facilities are just one example. I MD there and have done so in the prescence of lifeguars and County maintenance personnel with no problems. Although digging the sea oats is a no-no walking amongst them is not. Some State and Federal Parks/Preserves, such as the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge do prohibit walking through the dunes, but it is clearly marked by sign. If in doubt an inquiry to the appropriate governing body should suffice.

 

[billinstuart]

Cappy Z..all of the above. Much of the "renourishment" at the water line is thankfully receding. Further up the beach, it appears to be as much as 5-10' in some areas. I only hunt the high energy zone at low tide.

Most coastal property rights (private property) extend to the mean high water line, but are restricted from development by coastal setback requirements. Dunes are formed from windblown material, and the only items you may find there are recent losses.

 

[morris]

SURE you can hunt all of the dunes I'll send you Cookie's when you put you in Jail for it
Let me put it this way I was in Ft Pierce and was just walking to the beach hoot a short cut across some sand Dunes and a cop stopped me just to jump all over my a$$ for it..

Morris
Ocala,FL

 

[wailinmacs]

the 1715 survivor camp was found on the dune.. treasure falls out of dunes when they erode. who knows what else is in there .

 

[billinstuart]

The survivor camp, also a salvage camp, was a exception. There was also a spring there. Stuff found there was either dropped, or hidden by salvors who couldn't remember where they hid it. I'm not saying you won't find stuff in the dunes, but whatever is there did not WASH up there.

 

[gold-digger]

the dunes FL. vs the waves

Pic from the weekend at Wabasso to Melborne.

 

[wailinmacs]

let me try this again.

is it the only reason that the dunes are off-limit to metal detectors, the seaoats ?

or, is it illegal to hunt there (dunes) for other reasons ?

 

[billinstuart]

ok. Eschew obfuscuity. 2 reasons: The land may be privately owned, and the ecology nazis may arrest you. I'd worry more about the sea turtle nests and the sea oats. Be careful in state parks..detecting is usually allowed on the beach, but ask the ranger in charge.. National parks..nothing.

Just remember that dunes are created from windblown material, which is mostly very fine material, and anything dropped there will probably subside into the dune material. The survivor camp was actually behind the dune line. Good luck, but be careful.

 

[wailinmacs]

thanks for the good advice, bill.

 

[FISHEYE]

300 years ago there wasnt much of a dune.so when the 1715 fleet and other ships wrecked, all the light stuff washed over the beach and into the area when the high dune is now.since 300 years ago the dune has built up higher with sand and vegetation.the vegetation helps hold the sand in place.when we get big storms the dunes wash it all away.if the dunes wash away down to the water level at high tide, treasure or whatever was deposited there 300 years ago washes out.with the feds putting 10-15 feet of new sand on the beaches,all that has to wash away before you find any of the 300 year old stuff.as some of you have noticed,the new sand is slowly washing away.so just wait for the next big storm to wash the dunes down to the high tide water level to go and find anything.maybe we will get lucky with the next big storm washing away the houses and condos all the way to A1A.then they will never be able to replace all that sand.im sure glad i never bought beach front property.

 

[billinstuart]

I'm curious..why do you contend the dune line was smaller 300 years ago?

 

[FISHEYE]

The dune line had to be smaller or lower than it is now for the artifacts to be comming out at the level they were after 10-15 feet of the dunes being washed away.back then there wasnt any man made jettys to make the sand pile up in different areas as there is today.also during the wrecking of the 1715 fleet,alot of debris washed over the barrier islands into the river where there were skinny parts of land.the water level is the same today as it was back then.

 

[wailinmacs]

i don't know if the dunes were taller or shorter 300 years ago. i do think they were probably wider east to west .the whole area must have been a giant dune system all the way to the water on the west side.

 

[billinstuart]

I believe that items in the dunes settle due to undermining from the wind. Dunes are composed of windblown fines, and are held in place by vegetation. I know for a fact the dunes at Daytona were MUCH larger in the '40's than today...extrapolating back, I see no reason they would be smaller. There was more vegetation, and more fine sand, since inlets were still natural. Having said that, the natural inlets did move around, and dunes would build up and erode.

I'll split the difference with you. I'll agree with you on a localized basis, but not as a generalization.

 

[FISHEYE]

i dont believe that items in the dunes settle due to undermining from the wind.a perfect example of it is at the cape beaches wheres theres 20 foot long timbers from wrecks sitting in the same spot where they washed up 300 years ago.they are all bleached from the sun.plus i have spent alot of time in the deserts in nevada where its windy all the time.large heavy objects dont settle down in the sand.metal object that have been sitting on the sand for 100 years are still there on top of the sand.and the sand is alot finer then what we have on the beaches here.there isnt enough wind in florida for that to happen.i belie that wind blown sand and waves action built up the dunes on top of the objects as years gone by.do a test,get a bar of lead an put it on the dunes somewhere,stick a metal rod next to it with a ruler or yardstick attached to it.mark it with gps.go back in 3 months an see how far it sank in the sand and tie a piece of plastic on a branch of a tree nearby to see if the sand when up or down.dont forget to take some pics.no cheating either,lol.let nature do its thing.