M D laws in Indiana

Tom_in_CA

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You can also get an informational brochure at the entrance of each specific INDNR property and that lists the rules and regulations of that particular property. Here is an example from the State Park I worked at:

pjduff, I think I see my lack of finding this info: In Indiana (as in some other states also), the term "DNR" ("department of Natural Resources") is used as the title to the State Parks. Yet in other states, it's the "State Parks". CA state parks, for example calls themselves the CA state parks dept, not CA DNR.

So thank you for finding that for me. Ok, now to comment on that:

The Clifty falls brochure could be said to apply to just that one park. But as for the other link you give (and going to page 8 as you say), does seem to be d*mming info :( I bet the way such a rule got in their rule-book no doubt, is that years ago, people went asking "can we detect?". Hence leading to a rule to "address the pressing issue". But in any case, it's there now. I notice that it ALLOWS detecting on sandy beaches. Hmmm, so jkoaltrades info that they are "not allowed", is therefore not entirely true. Hmmm.. And even as you say, detectors are sometimes seen in state parks, and no one seems to care (so long as their not being a nuisance, leaving holes, or bother something historic?).

As far as the part about: ".... as approved by an authorized representative ...", I had to chuckle at that. I mean, seriously, is someone going to come up to "card" you and say: " excuse me, which *authorized representative" said you could do this evil activity?". I mean, seriously now :tongue3: CA also has this verbage (it's on the FMDAC state-by-state listing, not sure if it's in actual state-of-CA laws/rules). It too says "with permission from park office". Yet I can tell you for a fact that you can detect state beaches here till you're blue in the face, and never have anyone to bother you, or question you. And no, none of us goes "asking at the park office" either.

I'm sure that such verbage gets put in to rules lists, as the "safe" thing to put in, decades ago when some desk-bound bureaucrat is faced with answering the "can I detect?" question. Since, of course, each park or beach might have differences in them (breeding rare salamanders on some certain beach at midnight on a certain night of the year, etc...) well , sure, they can say "check at the kiosk". So too might that be their answer if I say "is it alright if I fly frisbees?", they might say "with permission" or "check with the park you arrive at", etc... Yet truth-be-told, if you just flew the frickin' frisbee, would anyone have cared less? No. Of course not. So long as you're not being a nuisance and aiming it at people's heads on purpose, etc....
 

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pjduff

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I had to do some digging to find the actual rules and regulations, but I knew they were there somewhere. Also, my replies were directed more towards the poster who said "ABSOLUTELY NO METAL DETECTORS ARE ALLOWED IN INDIANA STATE PARKS"!
 

Jeremy S

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If a Park Ranger or Conservation Officer sees you detecting, they can search their database of rules and regulations and find out real fast if you are allowed to do that or not.

I was walking along the river and came up on a public access site one day. Within a minute or two a black truck pulls off the highway and I can see the officer watching me as he is using his laptop. After several minutes he came down to inform me that I'm not allowed to do that on DNR property and that he can fine me if caught doing so. The CO didn't know if detecting was allowed or not, but it had probably been a slow day and when he saw me it gave him an excuse to look up the regulations. If someone had been boating or fishing, chances are he would have focused on them and not even paid attention to me out in the woods.

I was polite and got the hell out of there. Next time I will know the property boundaries much better and avoid DNR property all together. If it was Federal property I could have lost my detector, car, and been arrested.
 

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Tom_in_CA

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........ my replies were directed more towards the poster who said "ABSOLUTELY NO METAL DETECTORS ARE ALLOWED IN INDIANA STATE PARKS"!

Ok, thanx for doing that. Because this is all-too-common where someone .... with good intentions, makes such blanket statements like that. Ie.: "such & such place is off-limits", and "you can be arrested!" blah blah blah. And then humorously such info gets picked up in the rumor mill, and others just take it as fact.
 

Tom_in_CA

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If a Park Ranger or Conservation Officer sees you detecting, they can search their database of rules and regulations and find out real fast if you are allowed to do that or not.

I was walking along the river and came up on a public access site one day. Within a minute or two a black truck pulls off the highway and I can see the officer watching me as he is using his laptop. After several minutes he came down to inform me that I'm not allowed to do that on DNR property and that he can fine me if caught doing so. The CO didn't know if detecting was allowed or not, but it had probably been a slow day and when he saw me it gave him an excuse to look up the regulations. If someone had been boating or fishing, chances are he would have focused on them and not even paid attention to me out in the woods.

I was polite and got the hell out of there. Next time I will know the property boundaries much better and avoid DNR property all together. If it was Federal property I could have lost my detector, car, and been arrested.

Jeremy, I have no doubt that .... like in your example, "close-calls" via bored rangers (or city or park employees in a bad mood, etc...) occur. I mean, for example, if you searched long enough and hard enough through forums, you'd also probably find examples of someone getting "roughed up" by over-zealous city persons for detecting the most innocuous (and legal) park sandboxes.

heck, there was an actual case here in my area, where an md'r got barked at by an archie for hunting a certain state beach here (that was amongst the NEWEST of the developed beaches here, that didn't even have access or roads leading to it till the late 1920s!). It was bizarre, because detectors are simply a common site on all our beaches here (of which most are state-owned/run). But .... go figure .... archies hate md'rs. So they'll naturally morph any and everything they think applies.

Thus occasional gripes or bootings to me does not necessarily equate to "such & such place is off-limits". Sometimes, I hate to say it, but it just means: "avoid that one griper". Because if the day came when any person who comes up and says "well i don't like it" or "well i think you'll bother the earthworms", etc.... If the day came when it's our obligation to interpret such encounters as "oh no, this place is off-limits", is the day when we might as well give it up now, and assume everything is off-limits. Heck, I even had a lady say my detector bothered her dog once!

Oh sure, give lip service and move on. Sure, don't resume detecting right in front that cop or gardener. I mean, a little common sense is in order here.
 

Jeremy S

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Tom,

I would only say that Indiana DNR controlled property is off limits because it is off limits per the rules on the state's webpage, not just because some CO said so. You may be able to detect there many times or even for years and be ok, but all it takes is that one time a Ranger or CO wants to make a big deal out of it and you get burnt.

"This article applies to use by a person of any DNR property"

"312 IAC 8-2-10 Preservation of habitat and natural and cultural resources
Authority: IC 14-10-2-4; IC 14-11-2-1
Affected: IC 14
Sec. 10. Except as authorized by a license, a person must not do any of the following within a DNR property:"

"(7) Use a metal detector, except on a sand, swimming beach as approved by an authorized representative."

http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/312IAC8.pdf


Detecting on DNR property is like speeding in a car. Go ahead and do it, but at your own risk. The rules are there and the right officer will enforce them. You could just get a warning like me, or you could get that angry ranger who confiscates your detector and slaps you with a big fine. Ignorance of the law is no excuse if you get busted.

Back to the original poster's questions. State Parks controlled by the Indiana DNR have rules prohibiting detecting. Sure, there may be ways around them (getting special permission from a ranger or the park supervisor, etc). But just like speeding in your car, you get comfortable doing it and tend to forget that there are guys out there paid to enforce the rules that you are breaking. I would personally stick to obtaining permission to detect private property and city parks with no rules prohibiting detecting.
 

Tom_in_CA

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Tom,

I would only say that Indiana DNR controlled property is off limits because it is off limits per the rules on the state's webpage, not just because some CO said so. You may be able to detect there many times or even for years and be ok, but all it takes is that one time a Ranger or CO wants to make a big deal out of it and you get burnt.

"This article applies to use by a person of any DNR property"

"312 IAC 8-2-10 Preservation of habitat and natural and cultural resources
Authority: IC 14-10-2-4; IC 14-11-2-1
Affected: IC 14
Sec. 10. Except as authorized by a license, a person must not do any of the following within a DNR property:"

"(7) Use a metal detector, except on a sand, swimming beach as approved by an authorized representative."

http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/312IAC8.pdf


Detecting on DNR property is like speeding in a car. Go ahead and do it, but at your own risk. The rules are there and the right officer will enforce them. You could just get a warning like me, or you could get that angry ranger who confiscates your detector and slaps you with a big fine. Ignorance of the law is no excuse if you get busted.

Back to the original poster's questions. State Parks controlled by the Indiana DNR have rules prohibiting detecting. Sure, there may be ways around them (getting special permission from a ranger or the park supervisor, etc). But just like speeding in your car, you get comfortable doing it and tend to forget that there are guys out there paid to enforce the rules that you are breaking. I would personally stick to obtaining permission to detect private property and city parks with no rules prohibiting detecting.


Jeremy, you say you were "walking along a river", right? Then am I too assume it was some sort of a beach area? Then if so, then your only violation (if there was one), was that you didn't have the ok by an "authorized representative", right? (since you CAN detect "beaches" there, but only with the ok by an authorized rep, right?).

If all that is true, then tell me what you do with this situation:

go to this website:

Federation of Metal Detector & Archaeological Clubs Inc.

Scroll down till you get to California. Click on "California" to get a more expanded version of the laws for state of CA park's dept. Read what it says. Ok, great, now pretend you're getting ready to vacation to CA. Do you interpret that to mean that .... before you can hunt state of CA beaches, you need to alert, or have permission, from some ranger on duty there? They are, afterall, administered by the same parks dept. that manages the interior parks as well.

I'm just curious if you come to this conclusion. Because oddly, the state of CA beaches are routinely detected, since the dawn of metal detectors (1960s) and no one ever asks, nor has any problems. Are we all somehow "just lucky" ?

If you came here, would you read this and draw such a conclusion? Or would you merey ask ahead to any of the hundreds of us, who would tell you "the beaches are wide open", and simply join us?
 

Jeremy S

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I started out on private property that bordered a state forest. I was walking the river bank and came to a public access point with a small boat ramp. The river access point and boat ramp were DNR property, which was where I received the warning.

The beaches that they refer to are in northern Indiana on Lake Michigan.
 

Tom_in_CA

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Really ? I would have assumed that a "beach is a beach is a beach ...". Ie.: whether on a small lake , big lake , or river , or canal , etc ... Where are you reading that it is "only lake michigan " ?
 

junior967

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I know this is an old post but this topic always seems to creep back up. I dealt with this issue a couple years ago with a DNR park manager, and I won the argument. Here is the general rules. If you read all the information in the law then the questions will be answered. http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/312IAC8.pdf But here is info I received from the DNR HQ in Indianapolis in a letter when I wrote to them. You can detect sandy beach areas in DNR property ONLY. No where else. In order to detect you have to have a permit signed by a authorized person. That is defined in the law also. The permit is State Form 55847. Application for miscellaneous DNR property use. You MUST have the permit on your person when detecting. And lastly you CAN NOT detect the beach, sandy areas between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The beaches are open to the public then for swimming and NO detecting is allowed. Any other questions about this matter I will gladly clarify.
 

Loco-Digger

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There are plenty of other places to hunt besides state parks.
 

eman1000

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Personally I would rather go to jail than read that article again. Whew! I feel sorry for whoever has to write stuff like that...

But seriously how does one get an official license?
 

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