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Metal detecting ban in Essex county N.J.

G

gfeulner

New member
Has anyone seen the article in "The Record" banning metal detecting in all of Essex county New Jersey. So far that I know that makes Hudson county, Union county and Essex county that doesn't allow detecting. This is due to the few slobs out there that don't respect property. It's a damn same.
Gerry
 
You would think that rather than an outright ban that they would require detectorists to purchase permits to detect parks? That would raise revenue and and of course they could have stiff fines for those who detect without a permit or fail to fill in holes. If I read that article right the ban only applies to parks within Essex County. I've never been to Essex county but I would imagine that there are other huntable sites to consider. From the United States Treasure Atlas:

Ghost Town: Short Hills, one mile west of Milburn

Ghost Town : Maplewood , two and a half miles east of Millburn

William Besthorn buried $12,000 in gold coins on his property near Caldwell. It has never been found.

Best of luck and...

Happy Hunting!
Blind Squirrel
 
I agree 100 percent on the permits. I live in Bergen county NJ and detect a lot in Essex county. I would gladly pay $100 a year to be able to detect without having to look over my shoulder. Even NYC allows detecting in a good amount of parks with a permit and I think it's free. They should go after the idiots that leave holes (I've seen plenty of them ). As in any hobby there are the few that ruin it for the many.
Gerry
 
I've left one open hole since I started detecting in 1979. That was the hole in which I found my first Barber dime, an 1899. I went inside to clean it up and never got back to detecting that day. I was in my brother's yard so it wasn't a problem and fixed it the next morning. I have had a problem with returning to sited I've detected the next day and finding several of my plugs pulled out. It looks terrible and makes me look like I'm one of those guys that just don't care. It's either skunks, opossum or raccoons that are doing the dirty work because it always occurs overnight. Most of my digs are repaired so I can't find them from six feet away so they must be sniffing them out to search for grubs, etc.

Most of us do a great job at making things look good but the local wildlife will still find a way to undo some of our repair work. As for the comment about "unsavory individuals", I'd love to know how the complainers would define an unsavory individual. I'm sure everyone would say something different, so there's no way we can avoid that accusation.

Mark
Fredonia, NY
 
Hello All,

ON : February 22, 2013 I posted a question on permits and if people thought it would be a good idea because I seen this coming down in some areas. I posted it on on Finds treasure forum and another.

I was torn apart by people wanting to know why I would want to open that can of worms.

I agree there should be some kind of regulations put in place for a lot of different reasons.

If a home owner thinks there is a code of ethics and rules being followed I have to believe they would be a little more apt to let you hunt, unlike the guys I have seen carrying garden shovels around digging.

It has always amazed me walking into a park and seeing the garbage thrown around all over the ground swings and slides busted by vandals profanity on the walls of public restrooms and they want to ban us, the ones doing the least amount if any damage.

I can't count the number of times I have picked up a cap with broken glass still sticking out thinking to myself how much damage this would do to my grandson or dogs running through the parks, but lets not forget we are the villains here. How ridiculous!

Diggervance
 
Anytime there is a "no" passed out, or talk of a "ban", or an actual "ban", YOU CAN BE SURE that the reason ALWAYS cited will be "holes". So the md'r mutters under his breath : "Durned those md'rs who must've left holes". Right ?

But don't be so quick to assume that someone left holes, leading to this ban. Even with a supposed "... complaints we received" as cited in this article. Because often-time the old addage of "holes" is merely the "GO TO" reason to justify a decision or law they just made. EVEN IF THEY NEVER SAW ANY HOLES.

Here's what I'm talking about: If you were to ask the average non-md'r "what do you think of, if/when you see an md'r in the park ?". They will immediately conjur up images of a guy who's going to dig, right ? Ie.: "holes". EVEN if you leave no trace, and/or even if you didn't even ever stoop down to dig while they watched you, it's STILL just the knee-jerk mental connotation of a "man with a metal detector".

That's why when person's have gone into city halls asking "can I metal detect?", they will often get the answer "no, because of holes". So the md'r naturally assumes "aha, someone must've left holes in the past". But I'm not so sure that is necessarily the case. It is often just the go-to reaction answer. Because let's face it: No one in authority is going to say "Let's ban this just to be mean, and for no good reason, simply because we felt like it". NOoooo. Instead they will always say "no [or "ban"] because of 'holes' ", even if no one can cite such an incident.

Like those supposed complaints that supposedly the city got (leading to this ban): If that's even true, then consider that those "nosy-parkers" might simply have seen a man with a detector, and just ASSUMED (because of the connotation, or seeing him with a lesche, etc....). Or perhaps they saw him digging, yet he filled his hole and left no trace. Well that doesn't stop the nosy parker from ASSUMING he's about to leave it un-covered.

Hence don't be quick to assume "holes" were ever at play in this article. Maybe, but maybe not.

As for the idea of "permits", I will address that under diggervance's post.
 
diggervance, I think I recall that post. And I think I chimed in there. Let's clarify a few things here:

If a permit system idea is advanced on powers-that-be in city hall somewhere, it should ONLY be as a last resort, when a ban is IMMINENT or existing already. It should NEVER be bandied around to city people as a grand idea, as a PREEMPTIVE move, of some sort.

Because if you start suggesting permits, where there is no current restriction (or something in the works imminent), then it could back-fire where someone thinks "wait a minute, do we really want all these yahoos in our parks with detectors digging ?". And you can just "create an issue" where none ever existed. Ie.: it could create the phenomenon of "no one cared UNTIL you asked" . Or a "rule to create your pressing issue" type scenario.

Also: The word "permit" conjurs up images of being able to detect carte-blanche nilly-willy, right ? Yet if you look at any place (city, county, etc...) that ever DID implement a "permit" system, it's not what you think . They're always riddled with silly verbiage. Like "yes but you can't dig". Or "on sandy beaches only". Or "turn in all items to city police lost & found". Or "not within 10 ft. of any tree". Or "digger tool shall not exceed 4" in length", blah blah blah.

Hence permits are a last resort. Much better that it is simply silent on the subject, hence not addressed either way . Ie.: neither expressly prohibited, nor expressly allowed.
 
Okay- I apologize for this post. It turns out that there is no ban in Essex county. Too complicated to explain. The post did however bring up some interesting perspectives on peoples perceptions on metal detecting. There is a prejudice and ignorance by the public about the hobby. Unfortunately that will probably never change.
Gerry
 
gfeulner said:
.... There is a prejudice and ignorance by the public about the hobby.....
Click to expand...

Perhaps with some persons. Which is exactly why 90% of my park turf hunting is done at night nowadays. So peaceful. So serene :)

But that's only because turf carries the connotation that someone is about to leave marks. The same connotations don't occur at beaches, sandboxes, forested terrain, etc....

And actually, it's not all "prejudice". Just an occasional nosy parker. On-the-all, most people could care less and pass you by without a 2nd glance. And often-time those that do watch or come talk, are just curious and friendly. Like "what's the best thing you ever found?" or " where can I buy one of those?" etc....
 
Gerry,
I'm wondering, you mentioned that there is no ban, yet the paper said there is. Would you mind explaining what you meant?

I'm going hunting tomorrow, Saturday 7/29/18 in Montclair with a buddy of mine and would like to know if we can legally hunt a couple of Essex county-maintained parks.

Hope to hear from you. Please email me at jorbodo@rocketmail.com

Best regards,
Jor
 
jorbodo said:
Gerry,
I'm wondering, you mentioned that there is no ban, yet the paper said there is. Would you mind explaining what you meant?

I'm going hunting tomorrow, Saturday 7/29/18 in Montclair with a buddy of mine and would like to know if we can legally hunt a couple of Essex county-maintained parks.

Hope to hear from you. Please email me at jorbodo@rocketmail.com

Best regards,
Jor
Click to expand...
There is no ban. This was a friends idea of a practical joke! He's got a strange sense of humor. We've never had a problem at Branch Brook, Weequahic, Brookdale or Anderson parks. We've had the police come up to us and ask how we were doing. Just be neat and except for an occasional drunk, you should be okay. Stay clear of South Orange.
Gerry
 
I think with the permit , that the detectorist should prove he or she can cut a plug and replace it. I have taught a lot of people how to do a nice job and show little to no evidence they were even there. Watching YouTube videos, it's amazing how many people do not cut a plug properly, let alone swing a coil. To much mail order leads to very little instructions on the "how to's"
 
Just because someone orders thru the mail doesn't mean that the dealer doesn't explain the finer details of digging or that the buyer doesn't already know how to dig.
 
Blind Squirrel, I assure you that Short Hills and Maplewood are not ghost towns. Plenty of people and shopping in those towns.

Some writers just embellish stuff.

Tony NJ
 
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