Any MDing Regulations on Galveston TX beaches?

[BuckleBoy]

Hello All,

Thinking about a beach trip to Galveston TX. Are there any restrictions or regulations on MDing the beaches that I should know about?


Best Wishes,

Buck

 

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[SusanMN]

You might want to post on the Beach board. Congrats by the way.

 

[Lakemonster]

Nope..... lots of competition, tho. I'd go at night.... the locals get there en masse before dawn. Good luck.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Nope..... ...

Lake-monster: Just curious, when you say that there's no restrictions or regulations there, ... how do you know ? Has anyone there ever gone and asked ? Is there any express verbage that actually SAYS: "metal detecting allowed here" ?

Or is it merely a case of fact that .... it's just been routinely detected there for as long as anyone remembers, and no one's ever cared or had issues ? Because I know that there's been detecting going on there since even the 1960s on those beaches of yours

Certainly there *must* be some sort of rules which .... if you asked enough bureaucrats high enough up the chain, that .... someone might indeed come up with something they say precludes detecting. You know, something about "cultural heritage" or "collecting and removing", or "disturbing and altering", etc....

Such is the case of our state of CA beaches here: You can detect till you're blue in the face and never have a problem. So if you asked the average md'r here, he'd say "no restrictions or rules" (afterall, you can't argue with real-life, can you ?). But it's merely a case of no one ever asking the right questions, in the right way.

Thus here's what you need to do: go down to state capitol, show up with a shovel in your hand, and ask the state's purist archies "can I?". Keep asking long enough and hard enough, and presto, you'll find someone to tell you "no". Ok, hurry, go do the right thing! haha

 

[Lakemonster]

Here's how I know. Texas State Law says that a local law or ordinance has to be posted for it to be enforceable. There are no postings forbidding it. There are in nearby city parks...... not Galveston. There are beaches in Texas where metal detecting is forbidden. They are part of State parks which have a by permit only policy (they dont issue permits).

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Here's how I know. Texas State Law says that a local law or ordinance has to be posted for it to be enforceable......

Ok then, I'll be the devil's advocate here: Is there any posted signs on that beach that forbid nudity ? Or how about murder ? Let's just assume for the moment that neither of those have signs forbidding them. Yet I'm sure you'd agree that .... you're going to get in trouble by doing those activities, right?

By the way, I'm totally on your side ! I don't ask silly questions of bored bureaucrats, and detect anywhere and everywhere. But when it comes to 'asking to find out', and someone else says that if they don't see a sign, then presto, they're in. Yet the skittish folks are sure to come along and point out that it's entirely possible for there to be things that are "illegal", yet ... not necessarily on the sign.

 

[Niteowl]

Well I know for a fact that in Texas state parks/wild life preserves are definitely off limits. I received a warning last weekend from a very nice officer for detecting on a beach that's part of a state park/wild life preserve. There is nothing posted on any sign anywhere saying it's prohibited. The fine according to the officer is $180 a person. So my warning saved me $540 me and my two boys. Glad the officer was in a good mood that day.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Well I know for a fact that in Texas state parks....

Niteowl, a quick look at google maps, shows that multiple of the Galveston area beaches are, in fact, administered by the state. Hence "state park". Yet as you can see earlier in this thread: Local hunters there are saying "no problem".

It might be the same issue we see going on in CA : There has sometimes been isolated fluke bootings/scrams of hunters on the inland state parks. Mostly always in cases of someone snooping around obvious historic sensitive spots. And when push comes to shove, the regulation to bolster such a booting or scram (and in one case, a ticket) is NOT anything that specifically says "no md'ing". Instead, it will rely on cultural heritage wording.

Ok, that's fine. We can all agree that md'rs should not be snooping around obvious sensitive monuments, eh ? BUT HERE'S WHERE THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS : There is no reason why that very same verbiage wouldn't also apply to all state park land. And since the state park beaches here are administered by the exact same park's dept, then *technically* it should not be allowed on the state park beaches here . Because .... heaven forbid you find a 51+ yr. old coin, eh ?

YET REALITY IS FAR DIFFERENT. It seems to only ever be applied at fru-fru high brow "preserves" or historic monuments, etc... And you can hunt state of park beaches here till your arms fall off, and no one cares. Is that to say there's not a few isolated fluke cases , along the CA coast, where some ranger thought otherwise ? SURE. But they turn out to be isolated cases. Or only apply (in actual application) to JUST that one beach (or JUST that one ranger, etc...).

No one has gone "seeking clarification" (thank goodness).

So too might the same thing be at play in Texas, and Galveston. So if other md'rs have been historically doing it since the 1960s there, then ... consider that your "warning" might not apply to "all state park beaches" in Texas (in practical application anyhow). Otherwise, how are others going, with no issues, on the state beaches there ?

 

[BuckleBoy]

Niteowl, a quick look at google maps, shows that multiple of the Galveston area beaches are, in fact, administered by the state. Hence "state park". Yet as you can see earlier in this thread: Local hunters there are saying "no problem".

It might be the same issue we see going on in CA : There has sometimes been isolated fluke bootings/scrams of hunters on the inland state parks. Mostly always in cases of someone snooping around obvious historic sensitive spots. And when push comes to shove, the regulation to bolster such a booting or scram (and in one case, a ticket) is NOT anything that specifically says "no md'ing". Instead, it will rely on cultural heritage wording.

Ok, that's fine. We can all agree that md'rs should not be snooping around obvious sensitive monuments, eh ? BUT HERE'S WHERE THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS : There is no reason why that very same verbiage wouldn't also apply to all state park land. And since the state park beaches here are administered by the exact same park's dept, then *technically* it should not be allowed on the state park beaches here . Because .... heaven forbid you find a 51+ yr. old coin, eh ?

YET REALITY IS FAR DIFFERENT. It seems to only ever be applied at fru-fru high brow "preserves" or historic monuments, etc... And you can hunt state of park beaches here till your arms fall off, and no one cares. Is that to say there's not a few isolated fluke cases , along the CA coast, where some ranger thought otherwise ? SURE. But they turn out to be isolated cases. Or only apply (in actual application) to JUST that one beach (or JUST that one ranger, etc...).

No one has gone "seeking clarification" (thank goodness).

So too might the same thing be at play in Texas, and Galveston. So if other md'rs have been historically doing it since the 1960s there, then ... consider that your "warning" might not apply to "all state park beaches" in Texas (in practical application anyhow). Otherwise, how are others going, with no issues, on the state beaches there ?

The key here seems to be "wild life preserve." Public beaches where folks are playing/sunbathing/swimming have not been a problem.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Ok then, I'll be the devil's advocate here: Is there any posted signs on that beach that forbid nudity ? Or how about murder ? Let's just assume for the moment that neither of those have signs forbidding them. Yet I'm sure you'd agree that .... you're going to get in trouble by doing those activities, right?

By the way, I'm totally on your side ! I don't ask silly questions of bored bureaucrats, and detect anywhere and everywhere. But when it comes to 'asking to find out', and someone else says that if they don't see a sign, then presto, they're in. Yet the skittish folks are sure to come along and point out that it's entirely possible for there to be things that are "illegal", yet ... not necessarily on the sign.

By the way, Tom... There are U.S. laws against both nudity and murder, so they apply. The post earlier was about Local Laws and their enforcement...so at this point you're just stirring the pot.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

The key here seems to be "wild life preserve."... .

Which is sort of odd, if you think about it. How does a metal detector harm wildlife ?

 

[Normsel]

If there is not state law forbidding detecting and no signs posted at a park I go an detect anyway. I have been kicked out of a few places and apologized and left but for the most part anytime i been questioned I showed them how I dig and replace the plug and stomp it down. I would say 95% of the time you can't see where I have dug a plug because I have dug next to a plug I recently dug and didn't know it until I disturbed the old plug.