Andrew, you say: "
I was always told that md-ing in parks was always forbidden ..... " Uh, praytell ....
who told you that?
And then you say you "got this":
"
No person in a City park, facility and/or trail area shall dig or remove any soil, rock, stone, sand, shrub, tree or plants, down timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting or other means or agency."
Question: How did you "get this" in regards to
metal detecting? I mean, did you look that up? Or did you walk into city hall and ask "can I metal detect in the park?" and
this was the answer they told you applies? The problem is, that it implies you intend to
leave a mess (the clear implication of the "destroy" clauses), which is obviously not the case here.
Yes: if any desk-bound bureaucrat thinks about it
long enough and
hard enough, they can probably think of that
PLUS 20 more things/reasons to say "no". Others would be: lost & found regulations, perceived sprinkler head damage, or silly things like indian artifact stuff (never mind that indians had no refined metals). And on and on it goes.
The psychology is: that the mere fact that you are standing there asking for permission merely pre-assumes that something is inherently damaging, evil, etc... that you had to ask, to begin with. It would be like this: if I went and asked city hall where I'm at: "can I put on a suit made of tree bark, sprinkle birdseed on my head, & stand in central park whistling dixie?" they'd probably tell me I need a parade permit, and have to get signed off by the SPCA, PG&E, etc.... right? Essentially "no you can't". But if I just did it, do you really think anyone would care?
I personally do not consider these "digging" (damage, excavation, etc...) prohibitions to have anything to do with metal detecting. I do not let them stop me. Reason? because I intend to leave no trace, and no one will be able to tell I was there. If this still leaves you skittish, then you're probably going to have to find other places to hunt, and skip all public parks. Because I gaurantee you, if you walk in to ANY city hall and say "
Can I please dig and destroy the park?" What do you THINK they're going to say?
Therefore, unless there's anything specifically saying "no metal detecting", then I consider it silent on the issue. I will not consider peripheral stuff about bothering earthworms to have anything to do with the matter.
