metal detecting laws arizona

[IMPDLN]

I have no idea what the original poster is trying to say here. I am confused. Half of the "legal" strings he posted don't even pertain to Az. specifically. Like are you mad you can't go dig Indian artifacts? Mad you can't dig in National parks? I am confused and don't understand your point. Az. has lots of open areas where a person can metal detect. So the antiquities laws are stupid and say you can't remove artifacts......so what. What do you expect to find in the desert southwest but livestock tack and logging implements along with old mining equipment other than Indian artifacts. I guess I just don't understand your beef. Also never once had any law enforcement say diddly squat when out detecting anywhere in this state. I myself detect for gold. It's free money in the ground. I show leo's my gold all the time. They love to see it and admire my ambition to find it. Your post makes no sense to me at all. Dennis

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[JeromeAz]

I have no idea what the original poster is trying to say here. I am confused. Half of the "legal" strings he posted don't even pertain to Az. specifically. Like are you mad you can't go dig Indian artifacts? Mad you can't dig in National parks? I am confused and don't understand your point. Az. has lots of open areas where a person can metal detect. So the antiquities laws are stupid and say you can't remove artifacts......so what. What do you expect to find in the desert southwest but livestock tack and logging implements along with old mining equipment other than Indian artifacts. I guess I just don't understand your beef. Also never once had any law enforcement say diddly squat when out detecting anywhere in this state. I myself detect for gold. It's free money in the ground. I show leo's my gold all the time. They love to see it and admire my ambition to find it. Your post makes no sense to me at all. Dennis

Maybe you should read it again. Those "legal" strings cover Arizona and the rest of the country. He knows what he's talking about and I agree with him.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Maybe you should read it again. Those "legal" strings cover Arizona and the rest of the country. He knows what he's talking about and I agree with him.

I think what IMPDLN was trying to say was, not that such laws couldn't be morphed to apply, but rather, that ....... no one's out in the middle of the desert, to care less, to begin with.

 

[IMPDLN]

Not what I meant.....the original post makes it sound like you can't metal detect in Az. without a permit, and that just isn't correct. BLM and NFS land all over this state you can metal detect on. Sure if you are trying to metal detect on the court house grounds right in downtown Prescott you might have a problem. Not all ghost towns are off limits either. Removing artifacts is an issue anywhere in the country except on private property, so I don't understand why he has a problem with metal detecting in Az. Thousands of snowbirds come to our state every year and thousands metal detect here without being harassed or breaking any laws. I certainly don't advocate breaking any laws, but seems to me his problem is what locations he wants to go. I'm sure you would have a problem if you try to metal detect at Sharlot Hall Museum, but drive a couple miles out of town, like out by Thumb Butte or maybe out around Lynx Lake and you have no problem.

The list of places he mentions as being pillaged are all national parks or monuments, certainly off limits anyplace in the country. My opinion is he needs to modify where he wants to hunt and do better research. Dennis

 

[JeromeAz]

I think what IMPDLN was trying to say was, not that such laws couldn't be morphed to apply, but rather, that ....... no one's out in the middle of the desert, to care less, to begin with.

That's true most of the time but not everyone just detects the desert. That's one point that Pip was making. His list of places that have been pillaged. Indian lands mostly, ghost towns. There's not much left if anything. People go and dig places up and tear things up or burn them down. That's why there's nothing left. Ghost towns would last longer if they were just left alone then if people where digging them up and tearing them apart. People can't seem to just go to a ghost town and look around and see how it was back then and then leave it as they found it.

Pips not blaming just people that detect but they are part of it.

If IMPDLN would read it again he might see that Pip isn't complaining that he can't go out and dig up indian artifacts and relics. Just the opposite. He's complaining that's what people are doing, stealing indian artifacts, robbing graves, taking artifacts and destroying historic sites. He thinks they should be left alone.

Some places you do have to have a permit. So why not go out in the desert where you don't need a permit? Because people like detect other places too.

You want to play ? Sometimes you got to pay.

 

[IMPDLN]

Well, like I said I was confused by the way he worded his post. He said he had been threatened and harassed metal detecting. Sounded to me like he just wants to go where you aren't allowed. I understand people have and continue to trash places. I don't like it either.

I myself only detect in the desert in winter months. Lots of NFS land like Prescott National Forest to go metal detecting. Not gonna list any specific places but many easy to access legal places to go close to Prescott legally. Lynx Creek area, as a suggestion, has all kinds of area to go and open to everybody.

By the way, not all areas destroyed by general public. Some of these ghost towns leveled by BLM and NFS. My friend has a claim with a rock cabin that's well over 100 years old on it. My friend has maintained it through the years and BLM wants it destroyed. It's actually a stipulation that he has to destroy it should he ever drop the claim. Makes no sense but that is the way or government operates today.

Either way, Az. has lots of land open to the public and available to metal detecting. Not all of it is in the desert, however Az. has a lot of desert so that's just how it is. The original poster makes it sound like there is no place to go here and there are more places than you could possibly hit in a lifetime. He complains that he can only go on private property and that is not true. There are literally hundreds of thousands of acres in Az. open to the public and legal to metal detect, and no permit necessary. Dennis

 

[Cliffy]

I think what IMPDLN was trying to say was, not that such laws couldn't be morphed to apply, but rather, that ....... no one's out in the middle of the desert, to care less, to begin with.

Be easy with the youngsters!

 

[JeromeAz]

Be easy with the youngsters!

Youngster's my foot! Its us old farts that can't run fast enough to get away from the cops! Lol!

 

[IMPDLN]

Not sure you could call me a youngster. I might be new to posting on this forum, but I have been around awhile elsewhere. Dennis

 

[Justbent]

I say anything I find in the desert is mine. I dint care who lost it or when they lost it, it's mine now. I don't destroy things. I have just as much right to search for lost artifacts as anyone. Including the gubment. They can make all the rules they want. They don't follow there own rules, piss on em!

 

[JeromeAz]

I say anything I find in the desert is mine. I dint care who lost it or when they lost it, it's mine now. I don't destroy things. I have just as much right to search for lost artifacts as anyone. Including the gubment. They can make all the rules they want. They don't follow there own rules, piss on em!

I agree with you as far as the white man goes. Drop it, trashed it, buried it, lost it or whatever. Its modern history. Indians, that's different. The government thinks they own it all, well who owns the government. The American people. So that means you find it you own it. That's the way it should be. Now that all the museums, universities and government have most of whatever's been found out there, whatever's left should be to who finds it as long as your not out destroying things.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Just found this thread. Nicely put justbent.

You bet that if I find it. It's mine. I'm taking the time to exercise and come across something that's just deteriorating away into nothing. Or I think is cool enough to not throw away. I'm going to keep it.
It's like finding a 70 year old bottle in tact. I'm expected to leave it there. That's a load of crap. Caveman didn't make it. Not did native Americans. So why not do what's right and clean the environment.

 

[aznuggetthunter]

I understand about protecting our heritage, but these laws get stupid. In the "Land of The Free' the government makes rules so that the government is the only one allowed to "collect" and threatens all others who do it so the government will have the freedom to dig and collect everything they want in the name of science and preservation. So the things that are supposed to be protected for future people will just set in a warehouse and occasionally a piece will find a way to a museum. Reminds me of a child yelling.. MINE...MINE..MINE.. You can't have any...LOL....

 

[mswarbrick]

arizona gold prospectors have all kind of links check it out .
they have the same fedral antiques law here fifty years old no diggy, so a coin i lost when i was 12 i am not supposed to recover out of my lawn stupid law, i do disregard it.

Totally agree with Blackfoot. Furthmore...

1. None of those laws specifically limit using a metal detector. In spite of the tree-hugging environmental wacko liberal cop wannabees saying that metal detecting is illegal, it is not. No state laws forbid it, with the exception of some state parks regulating it within the park. Metal detecting and digging are two different things. Removing some item from the surface of the ground is not the same thing as metal detecting. Doesn't metal detecting involve that? Not necessarily. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Sometimes I just survey - I just push a button on my CTX and mark my finds on GPS and leave them without digging at that time. Thus it stands that none of the antiquity laws prohibit swinging a metal detector.

2. None of those laws apply to private property. They only apply to government land.

3. None of those laws supersede the General Mining Act of 1892 which permits prospecting (with a metal detector) on public land.

4. Picking up lost items less than 50 years old are excluded from the antiquities act. Lots of people look for items, such as jewelry that is of recent origin.

Having said that, destroying or defacing historical settings or buildings is a crime and is morally wrong. Since our hobby is endangered we should all be responsible to preserve our history and hertiage and behave in a law abiding manner. However, the idea that some coin is best left buried and that somehow that coin does anyone any good left buried in the dirt, is absolutly ridiculous. It is better recovered, in someone's posession, photgraphed for others to see, or in a a museum if appropriate. Once recovered such an item is a benefit to mankind. Wackos that imagine that the Goddess Mother Earth will be offended if we remove a coin from the ground are nutcases that need psychiatric help. Go to Youtube and search "ghost town metal detector finds" and enjoy what people have found and then ask yourself what good that piece of metal would do for anyone if it was still buried. You would have to be a wackjob to think it does any good for anyone staying buried in the ground.

There are some laws cooked up by liberals and parts of those laws are downright crazy. I don't intend to let such laws stop me from metal detecting. Also there are law enforcement officers out there that don't understand the law and who may give you trouble. Avoid them if possible. Be cautious when on public land. If approached by law enforcement be respectful. Do what they tell you. Be cautious in what you say and have your answers planned ahead of time. Are you surveying? Are you prospecting? Think it through ahead of time. Have you found anything at all? (the answer to that would be no!).

I have not heard of anyone in Arizona having their detector or automobile confiscated for metal detecting. It is a concern, but I am not going to let the liberal tree-hugging idiots stop me. If it happens I'll get the best lawyer I can find and fight it with all I have. In the mean time, I'll be metal detecting in Arizona! If someone don't like it they can just lump it!

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

I tell people I'm looking for my car keys I dropped .

 

[mswarbrick]

A Good One!

I tell people I'm looking for my car keys I dropped .

That's a good one. I'm adding to my bag of tricks! LOL

 

[roadrunner]

Do what someone else on Tnet said.
I am looking for my wedding ring.
No one will say a thing, male or female.
They don't want us to drive all the way home to become beheaded.

 

[John_Arizona]

Never admit to anything, never show anybody anything... Or else you'll be scrutinized by everyone and everything from a - z.

 

[kingjim]

I agree with everything you say however Charleston was not pillaged by normal people. Charleston was used as a target area for mortars and bombs from soldiers at Fort Huachuca through the 1970's. It was totally destroyed by the US Government. It's sad but true. I walked the streets of Charleston in the 60's before the destruction and again in the 80's after the land was opened again to the public. I have visited over 250 ghost towns in Arizona and many of them many times watching the changes over the last 35 years. It is very sad.

 

[CaliGal]

Important note, it's probably very important to be VERY clear on WHO'S land you are on -- as in the STATE lands, where those AZ laws apply, versus the FEDERAL lands (frequently managed by BLM or Forest Service or National Park Svc.) where the AZ (or any other states') rules DO NOT apply! Of course, each state has it's own laws, but the Federal antiquity laws and, in particular nowadays, the laws protecting Native American grave goods and cultural sites, can be pretty specific and wide-reaching for federal lands. Anyhow, I'm sure those are covered somewhere else on TNet. (I'm new to TNet and metal detecting, but worked in land management & regulation for 20+ years in So Cal.)