Alabama

[sprailroad]

aldee2012, It is a big problem we all face. There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of laws etc. Looking up rule's, reg's and laws on the inter-net can often be so vague, that you really cannot be sure if you "Can or cannot". Employees you call in Government offices (City, County, State and Fed.) often really do not know or am unclear themselves, and take the safe course and say "NO", and some have a pre-conceived notion that metal detecting = digging big holes, destroying property & stealing artifact's, and again "NO". In the field, some misinterpret the laws. True case, A retired couple in Northern Calif. driving around the Lake Tahoe Donner Pass area, flagged down a young Forest Ranger, to ask if she knew of a place they might Metal Detect, she "Wrote them up", for being in "Possession of a Metal Detector", her thought I guess is since you have one, you fully intend to illegally use it, They had to go to court, it WAS thrown out, No apology from Forest Service required. I tell you, sometimes it's hard, "Can I?, or Can I not?". Like any hobby, sport or profession, there are always a few that destroy it for the many. I told my wife one time, every time I go detecting, I'm probably breaking some rule, reg. or law somehow somewhere, would she PLEASE bail me out? It can be frustrating. You are not alone Alabama. City, County Park's almost always O.K., but if asked to leave, be polite, don't argue, just leave. Any more I often avoid State/Nat'l Forest Svc., In a few cases they can & have confiscated equip. If ever in any SERIOUS problem, simply by accident, an organization called "Public Lands for the People Inc" may be able to help and or give advise. www.publiclandforthepeople.org It's easy at times to become discouraged, but don't, hang in there, it's a great hobby with a great group of people involved in it.

 

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[Snap on Man]

It's not just metal detecting. Did you ever call a state or federal office and get the answer you were looking for. I would avoid the TVA. But here is what I do any I have never been stopped or questioned. I put on my yellow vest, I have on my name tag. I don't walk around with a large shovel or knife. I concentrate on what i am doing. I don't keep looking over my shoulder like I am doing something wrong. Lastly, when you leave it should like you were never there.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

sprailroad, welcome to T'net. A few observations on your post:

.... Looking up rule's, reg's and laws on the inter-net can often be so vague, that you really cannot be sure if you "Can or cannot". .....

This statement tells me that the person hasn't found anything that specifically says "no md'ing" (ie.: hasn't found anything that says they "can not") . Right ? But conversely, hasn't found anything that specifically says they CAN (ie.: something saying "metal detecting allowed here" or "on sandy beaches only" or "$20 permit", etc....). In other words: Silent on the subject. Neither specifically ALLOWING nor DIS-ALLOWING.

But since when does an activity need to be specifically "allowed" ? For example: What about frisbee flying ? skipping stones on the pond ? whistling dixie ? None of them need specific allowance, do they ?

Or perhaps you meant the ancillary verbiage that *might* be applied to our hobby: "alter" , "deface" , "remove", etc... , right ? Ok, fine: leave no trace of your hole and you haven't alterED or defacED anything, eh ? If someone still doesn't like it, fine: pick lower traffic times and avoid such busy-bodies.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

..... True case, A retired couple in Northern Calif. driving around the Lake Tahoe Donner Pass area, flagged down a young Forest Ranger, to ask if she knew of a place they might Metal Detect, she "Wrote them up", for being in "Possession of a Metal Detector", her thought I guess is since you have one, you fully intend to illegally use it, They had to go to court, it WAS thrown out, No apology from Forest Service required. .....

It's cited examples like this that have the following effect: Beginners and skittish folk read such things, and promptly go scurrying to the nearest ranger, city hall, etc.... grovelling. Heck, you "don't want to be arrested like the thing I read on the internet afterall!". But all this does is simply accelerate the very thing we all DON'T want to happen. The mere asking of "can I?" simply presumes something is wrong, dangerous, aweful, illegal, etc... (otherwise, why would you be asking, if the activity were innocuous?) . The perpetuating the "no's" and the vicious circle !

As for your cited example here, my response is: Flukes in life exist all the time. I can give you a link to a guy who got a ticket for eating a hamburger while driving (the cop called it "distracted driving"). Hmm, ok, are you not going to eat or drink from now on when driving ? Will you "seek permission" to eat a burger now ? And so too is there probably examples of someone in the USA getting "roughed up" by an over-zealous cop (tickets, confiscations, etc...) for nothing but a tail-light out.

Not saying to "throw caution to the wind", but just saying to cite some fluke incident , and pronounce "the sky is falling", is also unfounded.

 

[hvacker]

It's likely most municipalities have ordinances against destroying or damaging public property. It might appear digging holes all over a park would fall into the area of damaging for many. Y'all might as well get used to the fact there are a lot of diggers that do in fact damage land at least for awhile. If I was in charge of Parks and Recreation I wouldn't allow diggers either. And I'm a ( at least part time ) a digger. It would look like I'm not doing my due diligence. Having that job I would NOT want to see holes all over my park. Divots everywhere. I can hear the phone now!

Now being a property owner and a couple guys asked to detect my land I'd probably say okay. I would be very curious what they might find. I would probably want to join them or at least look over their shoulder. So I say don't be shy about approaching land owners.
If you feel a tad off balance you might try what the American Pickers do on their show. They have a list of what they buy for the home owner to see. Your list could be what you hope to find. It might strike a curious note and the home owner might hope to hit a jackpot.

 

[cw0909]

edit:, looked around in there and saw the discussion on regs and rules
do you live close to a state line, maybe that state is more Md friendly

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/alabama/259413-alabama-metal-detecting-laws-rules-regulations.html

Tnet has a forum section for each state, talk to some of these folks

Alabama

 

[sprailroad]

Tom in CA- Perhaps I did not word my reply to aldee2012 clearly, or you might have misunderstood what I was saying. More often that not, if you call and talk to a "Person" in a "Government Office" about rules, reg's etc. in regards to detecting, they haven't a clue, so they will just tell you No. I HAVE found SOME sites that specifically state no metal detecting in park, on beach only. On some sites, such as Oregon State Parks, you must first obtain a day permit (free), from the park office, and detect only in specific arears only. Many signs in county or BLM parks will state what you "Cannot" do. Detecting is not one of them, then I detect. What you will never see is a sign saying, "Metal Detectors Welcome". Alabama sounds like an honest guy who just wants to metal detect, without any trouble, and sometimes you just do not know if it's a "Can I or can I not". Reg's CAN be very vague. We have all seen signs reading, Do not remove, disturb, deface or alter, as well as damage any tree shrub plants etc. Now, is walking on the grass causing damage to the grass? Of course not, Is digging a small hole to remove a pull tab both causing damage, or fall under "Removing" an object?, depends on the individual or government agency involved, all a matter of "Interpretation" , or "Common sense". In regards to to the retired couple? They only asked not because they thought they were doing something "Wrong", but perhaps the "Ranger" might know of a good place? (Just their bad luck to run into a ranger who did NOT understand the laws) because she knew of the area? Just as you might ask someone of a good place to hunt. As far as "Groveling?" Perhaps that is an activity you might be familiar with, one I do not recall ever having engaged in. I am not "Perpetuating the NO's", nor do I pronounce "The sky is falling". What I am saying is that every place is different, every town, city, county and state. In Oregon you can walk around with a .45 cal. long colt strapped to your hip, in Calif. they now want background checks to buy a box of .22's. My point was, I did not want aldee2012 to become discouraged, as I said, "It's a great hobby, with a great group of people involved in it". Perhaps if the sky is falling, it's in Calif.

 

[Snap on Man]

Tom in CA- Perhaps I did not word my reply to aldee2012 clearly, or you might have misunderstood what I was saying. More often that not, if you call and talk to a "Person" in a "Government Office" about rules, reg's etc. in regards to detecting, they haven't a clue, so they will just tell you No. I HAVE found SOME sites that specifically state no metal detecting in park, on beach only. On some sites, such as Oregon State Parks, you must first obtain a day permit (free), from the park office, and detect only in specific arears only. Many signs in county or BLM parks will state what you "Cannot" do. Detecting is not one of them, then I detect. What you will never see is a sign saying, "Metal Detectors Welcome". Alabama sounds like an honest guy who just wants to metal detect, without any trouble, and sometimes you just do not know if it's a "Can I or can I not". Reg's CAN be very vague. We have all seen signs reading, Do not remove, disturb, deface or alter, as well as damage any tree shrub plants etc. Now, is walking on the grass causing damage to the grass? Of course not, Is digging a small hole to remove a pull tab both causing damage, or fall under "Removing" an object?, depends on the individual or government agency involved, all a matter of "Interpretation" , or "Common sense". In regards to to the retired couple? They only asked not because they thought they were doing something "Wrong", but perhaps the "Ranger" might know of a good place? (Just their bad luck to run into a ranger who did NOT understand the laws) because she knew of the area? Just as you might ask someone of a good place to hunt. As far as "Groveling?" Perhaps that is an activity you might be familiar with, one I do not recall ever having engaged in. I am not "Perpetuating the NO's", nor do I pronounce "The sky is falling". What I am saying is that every place is different, every town, city, county and state. In Oregon you can walk around with a .45 cal. long colt strapped to your hip, in Calif. they now want background checks to buy a box of .22's. My point was, I did not want aldee2012 to become discouraged, as I said, "It's a great hobby, with a great group of people involved in it". Perhaps if the sky is falling, it's in Calif.

As I said in post 22 above. When did you ever talk to a state or government and get the answer you were looking for. Very seldom will you here. I am not sure, I will check on that and get back to you.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... In regards to to the retired couple? They only asked not because they thought they were doing something "Wrong", but perhaps the "Ranger" might know of a good place? (Just their bad luck to run into a ranger who did NOT understand the laws)...

Ok. You didn't link that to promote the notion that we should all be shaking in our boots. And you say that you look up laws/rules for yourself. I was just saying that, for whatever reason you put it here , it will be seen by others that they should inquire ahead of time, asking bored desk clerks, etc.. But as you say, that often just nets "no's" as "safe-answers". Or worse yet, some genius decides to dream up a law, to 'address the pressing issue' that keeps coming across their desk.

I groan when I see the "scary links" of fluke incidents such as that posted. Because later, when you ask some skittish newbie: Why did you think you need to do that ? They'll point to those type links and stories, that cause them to think they need to go grovelling. NOT that flukes can't occur (in anything in life), but ... it's the psychology of projection: Like shark attacks: They are extremely rare, and millions of people swim in the ocean all the time w/o incident, right ? But if a SINGLE shark attack occurs , it makes the news. So what does everyone fear when they go to swim ? Sharks. Because the examples of swimming with no issue or problem never make the news.

 

[sprailroad]

Tom in CA. I agree with your post. I seldom look up laws/rules etc. anymore on line, and I never "call", because as you stated, some "genius" will want to create a new rule against something they do not understand(metal detecting) that they never gave any thought to beforehand. And I also agree with the Shark/Swimming example, I was just saying......., But it has/does make me "alittle" more aware. Will I ever stop detecting because of it?, I'll put it this way. I will stop detecting when I drop dead, and even then they will need to cut my fingers off, to remove that metal thing out of my hands, in order to cremate I guess. And for all the "Newbie's" out there? That's what is GOOD about this TreasureNet forum, They can learn from us, and as I well know, I can still learn from them. Oh Jeez Tom, are we begging to bond?

 

[Bama Digger]

I live in Alabama and have no trouble at all finding legal places to hunt. In fact there aren't many places that are illegal.

 

[Bama Digger]

Why should you be able to do anything about private home owners not wanting you on THEIR property other than explaining how/what you'd be doing to maybe persuade them? City Hall has nothing to do with it and neither does "old money". It's called private property rights.