City Park - Detect all you want, but . . .

. . . you can hunt all you want in the city parks but you are not allowed to disturb vegetation or turf by digging or removing targets. You are limited to only those items laying on the surface.

That's the city ordinance. You can detect unrestricted but you can't dig anything. Yikes! How hypocritical.

As ridiculous and sad as this policy is, it is also humorous that the city council would approve such a meaningless rule.

I detected a state park the other day. Hobnobbed with the rangers who were unconcerned and generally friendly and permissive.

The state park has restriction to area of detection only. I dug but left no trace - which keeps the rangers happy.

Someone in the distant past must have cratered a city park leading to the city's open-yet-binding, detect-but-don't-dig rule.

It would be more honest if the city simply forbad metal detecting outright.

It's all a matter of destruction or not.

If you can remove your target and replace your plug so that it's left the site "undisturbed" ... you will not have a problem.

The normal intention of these common ordinances is to prevent removal and damage to turf or plantings. I don't believe we should be afraid.

HH Joe

A few year back ,iread of a city trying to pass the same rule.
Someone brought up the fact that there were city owned golf courses that would
have to fallow the same rule.
Every swing of the club could remove vegetation.
They dropped the wording from the rule.

The idea of detecting targets in the ground and then not permitting recovery is like the city collecting taxes but not being allowed to waste it.

THEY JUST BANNED METAL DETECTING AT A PARK HEAR IN HARRIS MINNESOTA, and what happend is a guy was digging with a spade and left great big open holes and lots of magled grass i seen the holes and talked to the guy who did it he got a bounty hunter and was digging with a big spade and the hole park was mangled holes 8" deep grass out laying next to the hole and the guy says to me this place is full of Iron I tried to fix the hole s but I am shure he went back and dug more now its banned see now what will hapen is he will go to another park whear its not banned and do the same thing , antill all the parks are banned , he left really fast was in a hurry , so I never got to talk to him , I had been detecting that park for years and others who dug neat holes but just one guy duface ruined it for all kinda like who put thear finger in the pie so we all get punished ,

GunnarMN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> THEY JUST BANNED METAL DETECTING AT A PARK HEAR IN
> HARRIS MINNESOTA, and what happend is a guy was
> digging with a spade and left great big open holes
> and lots of magled grass i seen the holes and
> talked to the guy who did it he got a bounty
> hunter and was digging with a big spade and the
> hole park was mangled holes 8" deep grass out
> laying next to the hole and the guy says to me
> this place is full of Iron I tried to fix the
> hole s but I am shure he went back and dug more
> now its banned see now what will hapen is he will
> go to another park whear its not banned and do the
> same thing , antill all the parks are banned , he
> left really fast was in a hurry , so I never got
> to talk to him , I had been detecting that park
> for years and others who dug neat holes but just
> one guy duface ruined it for all kinda like who
> put thear finger in the pie so we all get punished
> ,

Same thing happened in Elmwood, Wi. We were there last November and someone had left 6 inch diameter open holes all over...... dozens of them. At least half of the holes still contained coins, either in the dirt pile or in the sidewall of the hole. Clueless.

Bottom line is this town no longer permits metal detecting. A real shame because that was a very productive place for many years.

I am afraid it is a sign of the times.

Jerry

It is a shame that our elected officials pass laws because there might be an idiot out there that will unshamedly destroy the landscaping without regard. Let's not punish the single idiot who would do such a thing. let's punish EVERYBODY. It seems this is the future of our society, punish everyone EQUALLY for the stupidity of the of the few to be 'fair' to all? How that makes any sense I have no idea...

HH, Wally

amen wally!!!!! and yes it is a backhanded sneaky way to ban metal detecting!

We fight some of the same battles around here. Unfortunately a few of the local MD club "hot shots" are some of the worst offenders. I have one park I hunt where the manager has told me that my partner and I are welcome but will eject most others, especially the "hot shots" if caught. This one guy will dig a sloppy looking hole throw any trash on the ground beside it and the sort of toss the dirt and sod in leaving a mess. We're working hard to impress the park managers that most of us are good folks who are careful and neat. Unfortunately I have club members working hard at just the opposite. I was a member of the club for about a year and a half but have quit in disgust...

People making these decisions don't know a detector from a broom but for all purpose have made the park off limits.

Don't kid yourself if you stick a scewdriver in the ground you are in violation and expect to be given an expensive citation so time to move on or have the law rescinded.

Sign of times with large fenced in areas and newly erected no detecting signs...

They also ASSUME someone detecting does this. I remember talking to a guy who was in charge of parks and he said he got complaints from one person..... but had never investigated it .... it was just easier to put it off limits than deal with that person. Ive seen more damage done with the lawn mower scraps, golf carts they use to clean up with and kids than we could ever do.

Dew

I have to give a few managers around here credit. Two seperate places they have followed me around for a few digs and told me I was welcome to come back any time. They also made it clear there were others who were not welcome back. I wish there were more of them. We even have a county manager nearby who told some of her park managers that they probably had more damage from animals and kids then they did from detectorists. She fought a county wide ban that was being pushed and did bring in a free permit system. The idea being the bad folks get banned and the good folks welcomed. A few other counties have put in county wide park bans. It's a battle for sure.