Permission Denied...

[Hightone]

I was part of a group of business men who faught to have a licensing law in the state of Florida for installer of burglar and fire alams. The problems that arose with people who "didn't know" what they were doing cost many people their possessions as well, as some their lives. Some burglar alarm salesmen even went as far as to stake out houses, and knowing when to break in. Long story short, almost every state followed suit, and you cannot ask a person what or where their valuable assets are to protect them unless you have a license that takes a lot of testing to get, as well as a clean background record.

Metal Detectorists will one day have to come together to form a greater bond for maintaining a clean and professional hobby. If someone sarted, say, Metal Detectorists of America (MDA), then as a group they can work with local government and organizations to further an environment of civility and professionalism. It may come down to a state license to detect, and showing you can by MDA(?) standards (filling holes, etc) through a test. I don't know.

In my little town, years ago, I tried to make extra money with a hot dog cart. It was OK for a year, until others decided to do it, and not following common sense made people sick. The new rulings came as a harsh and expensive cost to my little business, and I sold the cart.

It's all about separating the good from the greedy, the idiots that only care about themselves.

 

[wade tx]

Safe answer is always no, so don't ask, just go hunting.---Wade

 

[Digginghound]

Older topic but here is what I do.
Look up the site on the net.
Typically it's parks and recreation.
They will have a list of rules for the park.
Print the rules and put them in your pocket.
Unless, they say no metal detecting, I go.
Unless there are signs saying no metal detecting, I detect.
Don't call and ask for permission because you are attracting attention to yourself and will get detecting prohibited !
Use common sense, take a hand scoop and not a shovel !!!
Don't attract attention with music blaring and a beer can in your hand !
Be neat and fill your holes, take the trash with you and you won't be bothered.
I have cops drive past me all the time and look right at me.
I get the occasional cop that pulls up and ask if I've found anything good and we have some conversation and some even express interest in detecting.
So don't ask permission for anything!
If it's not posted to prohibit detecting and your cutting nice plugs and not just ripping stuff up you shouldn't have a problem!
That's how is works for me and I think the cops have bigger problems to deal with then an old man minding his own business, detecting in a park.
Common sense is the key here.

 

[Johnnyanglo]

Digginghound has it exactly right when it comes to parks. Check and print the P&R website, read the posted sign at the park, then go detect. I've cleared detecting with the city when it comes to fairgrounds - just to be sure. But for parks - do your own research.

I recall asking the city long ago if detecting in parks was OK and was told you can detect but not dig - no disturbing plant life. It was on the city P&R website too, so it was a city ordinance. If you detect and dig a plug, likely no one will notice. On the other hand, you could be fined. In those cases the negatives (fines) outweight the benefits (clad and trash). There are other places to go.

Even if the parks are off limits - try knocking on doors in the neighborhood. Simple and legit. More likely to find old silver too. Or try along old sidewalks near the road (or medians). Or reststops along the highway. Or State parks. Those off-limit city parks are just a small segment of the detecting opportunities.

Johnnyanglo

 

[ironsight]

Here's my simple rule of thumb that has not failed so far.

If the city park sign says nothing about metal detecting...detect, unles you know for a fact they have an ordinance against detecting.

Metal detecting in city parks is not some heinous crime resulting in a felony conviction and life imprisonment. So far that is.
Never ask official permission for city park detecting at a city hall or equivalent.

State, Nat'l and some County parks are generally off limits. In those places you might need to ask permission.
Fairgrounds are sometimes semi-privately owned, again if nothing in the grounds rules against detecting....detect.

For school grounds, if its fenced-in and locked-up forget it. On the other hand if its wide open with no signs....detect but only on off school days and weekends.
For tot lots only detect when no kids are around.

Unless one foolishly detects in a Nat'l or off limit State/County park without a permit, you won't get arrested, maybe warned, humbled, scoled and/or brow beaten but not arrested.
Its as simple as that.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I agree with your post, except that I would lump "county", in with "city" , in regards to this topic. Because just like most cities, most counties too have never dreamed up such a thing. States and fed, perhaps, but no, not down at city and county levels. I bet, for example, that if I were to waltz in to my county park's dept. office here, and ask "can I metal detect?", they'd probably look at me like I was from outer-space. Ie.: not a question or thought that's probably occured to them, or came across their desk, etc...

And bear in mind, that not all federal property is off-limits to md'ing, as is commonly thought. BLM and NFS, for example, have specific allowances (hey, can't ask for better than that, eh ?)

 

[marcomo]

Metaldetective1975 appears to have gone, but then again he may be lurking from a different IP address, who knows?

While many responses were no-nonsense and direct, I didn't see anything rude or disrespectful to make MD75 want to take a powder.

He obviously didn't get the response to his post that he was looking for. Apparently his feelings were hurt, I guess he felt ganged up on because virtually every response didn't agree with his "permission" method.

For someone who said in an earlier thread that he has been detecting since 1975, I would have expected a more mature response to constructive criticism than "I'm outta here!"

I guess there are numerous things with the potential to negatively impact the hobby. Certainly one would be a detectorist not only not using common sense, but unable to recognize it when it's put in black and white right in front of his face.

 

[marcomo]

This hobby is lucky to have someone like Tom CA who has the knowledge, time and willingness to write so eloquently about the futility and danger of asking permission to detect public property.

Tom, on behalf of all who will never realize they had a personal detecting site saved from being posted "no detecting" because you dissuaded someone from a permission granting quest, thank you!