Permission from non-profit?

[scrapmagnet]

I have a plot of land nearby owned by a non-profit. I am pretty confident that I have located an old mill site in the woods. Google earth, in a winter view, offers no signs of visible structure. Although there are some old mill site records for the area (existing and lost), I can find no mention of this one. Has anyone approached a non-profit for permission? Being a "corporate" type entity, I'm thinking that it may be a waste of time to try.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

You need to develop an "Elevator Pitch." A proposal that takes no longer than 25-seconds to explain. Do some research on the corporation, see what their mission is and tie that into your proposal.

Now, BEFORE you do that, get your butt onto the site with your detector and figure out if it's worth your time and trouble. It is really easy to say, "Sorry, had no idea I was on your land."

 

[scrapmagnet]

You need to develop an "Elevator Pitch." A proposal that takes no longer than 25-seconds to explain. Do some research on the corporation, see what their mission is and tie that into your proposal.

Now, BEFORE you do that, get your butt onto the site with your detector and figure out if it's worth your time and trouble. It is really easy to say, "Sorry, had no idea I was on your land."

I might do that if it was easy. It happens to be in the middle of about 400 acres, occupied buildings and a mix of open ground. Not knowing where I was would be a hard sell. I thought about a tie in and came up empty.
I found another aerial that is really making me itch.

 

[pepperj]

You need to develop an "Elevator Pitch." A proposal that takes no longer than 25-seconds to explain. Do some research on the corporation, see what their mission is and tie that into your proposal.

Now, BEFORE you do that, get your butt onto the site with your detector and figure out if it's worth your time and trouble. It is really easy to say, "Sorry, had no idea I was on your land."

Not cool to promote Trespassing 😕

Things like that Terry just basically screws up the hobby.

Non profits are close to many levels of government.
Could be a real bummer if the OP trespasses gets caught.
The CEO of the NP throws a fit, and starts calling gov't folks.
Really sometimes one wonders about the frigging ethics of others.

 

[scrapmagnet]

Not cool to promote Trespassing 😕

Things like that Terry just basically screws up the hobby.

Non profits are close to many levels of government.
Could be a real bummer if the OP trespasses gets caught.
The CEO of the NP throws a fit, and starts calling gov't folks.
Really sometimes one wonders about the frigging ethics of others.

I'm not planning on it for just that reason. Besides, If I were to get caught on there, I would never get permission. Its a pretty big place with quite a few people involved. I'm going to put some feelers out and see if someone I know has a connection there.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Not cool to promote Trespassing 😕

Things like that Terry just basically screws up the hobby.

Non profits are close to many levels of government.
Could be a real bummer if the OP trespasses gets caught.
The CEO of the NP throws a fit, and starts calling gov't folks.
Really sometimes one wonders about the frigging ethics of others.

Flip a coin. Heads the site will be a parking lot in five-years and lost to history, Tails you put on your big boy underwear, Orange safety vest and white hardhat, and go detect till someone tells you to stop. I NEVER promote trespassing, but I suggest it in this case.

 

[pepperj]

Flip a coin. Heads the site will be a parking lot in five-years and lost to history, Tails you put on your big boy underwear, Orange safety vest and white hardhat, and go detect till someone tells you to stop. I NEVER promote trespassing, but I suggest it in this case.

Totally unethical.

From what you posted up the readership can now assume you flip the coin on if you're going to trespass or not.

So you know it's going to be a parking lot in 5 yrs.🤣
Ya the orange vest trespasser.
Pisses me off actually those that stoop so low to trespass on private property.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Pepperj, I don't want to argue with you. You are absolutely correct. While I would never jump a gold claim, or detect a person's yard or land, I have no qualms hunting public or "Corporate" properties.

Correct? Moral? I was shooting people at 18-years-old for Uncle Sam, so my definitions may be a bit more encompassing than yours. But that's OK right? You ain't robbing a bank, or stealing some old lay's purse here. Shaming the hobby? C'mon! Have you seen "Duck Family Treasure?"

 

[releventchair]

Someone pays taxes on the property , in theory.
I've gone to a township office and inquired. Years ago I called one to locate owners of two properties while watching deer out someones window and wanting permission to pursue them.
A permission thing. Ending with permissions secured but ordinance denying a hunt. Ahh well.

A caretaker was located for another noncorporate site. Not always, but properties can have caretakers. Both formal and informal. And some that are not actual caretakers!
Some realty companies hire caretakers. I found one mowing a yard and gained from that. (He could have farmed the mowing out but doing it himself meant more money in his pocket. So follow the chain towards who owns it.)

How you act when seeking permission matters.
Be polite. Explain you have an interest in the property. Don't be standing there dirty holding a shovel and declaring yourself a treasure hunter while looking like a dog under a buffet table.

You are seeking trespass permission! IF it was your property how would you want the clerk to handle inquiries? And when you ask permission of an owner or caretaker , be considerate accordingly. You're representing the ethics of the metal detecting community and the permitting process for all others too.
Someone wants to pick volunteer sweet peas or something and someone else did something to end permissions...Let's not have it be us that ruined it for others.

 

[Clay Diggins]

If you are searching for valuables on someone's property on the strength of a caretakers word you might as well (legally speaking) just ask your dog for permission. Caretakers don't own the property and have no legal right to allow visitors to search for and remove valuables from the property.

ALL property owners can be contacted directly with the information on their local property tax account. Usually you will find that information for free with interactive property mapping online with your county tax assessor. In a few states some tax assessors may have another job title but they will still have the owner's contact info.

It's not that difficult to locate and ask permission of a property owner. It doesn't matter if the owner is an individual, trust, corporation or non profit there is a human that you are going to have to deal with.

If you aren't sure of your ability to convince a human to allow you to detect their property you need to work on your human skills. Just giving up on your legal duty to obtain permission and trespassing anyway with some weak excuse like "my dog said it was OK" really is a failure on the part of the detectorist.

You just need to man up and ask permission of the owner even though you "know" it's going to be a no. You might just be surprised sometimes.

 

[releventchair]

If you are searching for valuables on someone's property on the strength of a caretakers word you might as well (legally speaking) just ask your dog for permission. Caretakers don't own the property and have no legal right to allow visitors to search for and remove valuables from the property.

ALL property owners can be contacted directly with the information on their local property tax account. Usually you will find that information for free with interactive property mapping online with your county tax assessor. In a few states some tax assessors may have another job title but they will still have the owner's contact info.

It's not that difficult to locate and ask permission of a property owner. It doesn't matter if the owner is an individual, trust, corporation or non profit there is a human that you are going to have to deal with.

If you aren't sure of your ability to convince a human to allow you to detect their property you need to work on your human skills. Just giving up on your legal duty to obtain permission and trespassing anyway with some weak excuse like "my dog said it was OK" really is a failure on the part of the detectorist.

You just need to man up and ask permission of the owner even though you "know" it's going to be a no. You might just be surprised sometimes.

Caretaker approved after our agreement.
A property owner arrived during my hunt.
All was well.

Owner (s) of estate wanted caretaker as an intermediate to handle such things.