The Legalities of Hunting??

[Tea]

Hey all,

I've been curious lately as to what the legalities are pertaining to the hunting of artifacts (no digging, just a crouch here and there). I know its a hazy line between skimming the ground and hunting but aside from your personal or private land, anybody know the rules? Aside from ethical reasons or "taboo" are there laws? I have a few friends that claim it its super illegal, and that makes sense if it is private land, national park, etc. but are there any actual rules restricting it?

Thanks!

[OneOneNiner]

The rules are different from State to State.
I mostly hunt gravel beaches on my local River which is perfectly legal in our State. It is also legal to camp on these beaches as long as you're close to the water. Now when we cross the State line up into Mississippi, the rules are completely different.
It happens not to be legal to hunt their beaches, but that has never, and will never stop me from doing so.
I never venture into the woods or beyond the woodline whether I'm in Louisiana or Mississippi.
Waterways are for the people.
Now a National Park, I would say that it is illegal. Would that stop me from bending down and pocketing a rock....sorry, the answer is no.

Best to check your local laws, and follow the rules that you agree with.
The ones you don't agree with and are willing to disobey are solely up to you.
Just be prepared to deal with the consequences.

[Indianasmith]

generally speaking, in most states, picking up arrowheads on private land with the permission of the landowner is perfectly kosher. All public lands are technically off limits, but that being said, there are degrees of enforcement and toleration. Hopefully we'll get some input from our California collectors.

[SoCalHunter]

In California it is 100 percent legal on your own land or with permission from the land owner. It is 100 percent illegal on public lands. In a national park (federal land) to be caught (pilfering or plundering as they call it) artifacts is punishable by up to $250,000 and 2 years in federal prison. I don't agree with the laws, but I do understand why they were created. 5 miles from my house is an Indian burial ground that was completely destroyed by artifact hunters. This is the reason it was made illegal. But I see no real problem with surface hunting. And I would never dig or even surface hunt in a known burial ground it's just not right by me. Others have disregard for this, and they are the ones who ruined it for everyone else. Check your local laws and I avoid national parks, 2 years is a long time to be locked up.

[longtimefree]

i know someone who picked up some rocks (they may of been tools) from inside a state park, when him and his girlfriend got to there car he was greeted by a ranger and a sheriff the girl had drugs the guy had rocks, only the guy got a ticket, he ended up with three years probation, you cant even pick up a pine cone in a california state park, once i came up behind two rangers on horse back watching some people below them , they were so into watching them they didnt even notice that there horses had seen or smelled me , there conversation centered around what the people below might be picking up, they were really into there job

[Trask]

We have a number of threads on legalities if you start searching on this Forum....It's a hot topic to be sure and one we all unfortunately have to contend with on some level.

Some quotes from previous threads:

Originally Posted by karatekid069

Federal Land
Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations Chapter 261.9, Section (h) prohibits removal of any archaeological artifact from federal lands.

In Oregon you can surface collect on state and private lands as long you do not use a tool and the objects are not part of a grave
http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/358.html

In Nevada its pretty much the same
NRS: CHAPTER 381 - STATE MUSEUMS
NRS 381.219 Collection of certain minerals and artifacts and photography not prohibited. Nothing contained in NRS 381.195 to 381.227, inclusive, shall interfere with or prevent any person from collecting minerals, rocks or gems, arrowheads or other Indian artifacts so long as they are not part of a prehistoric site, nor prevent the photographing of objects of interest.

New laws in Calif. on head huntin'?

[SoCalHunter]

Thanks for the link trask was very interesting. I just read an article recently that stated $250,000. I'll have to find it again. Most of these laws were created because of grave robbers and plunderers who's only motivation was to sell the artifacts. I believe you should be able to hunt on public lands with a permit. But unfortunately my opinions mean nothing to the government.

[Scotto]

My advice - hunt on private land and ALWAYS with permission.

I've been on pulic land as in parks, preserves, etc. and I will not take anything but photographs, period.

[CDEAN]

If I'm hiking on state land and I see an artifact, I'm going to take it. Better for it to be documented and in a collection instead of collecting dirt in the wilderness where no one would see it or appreciate it.

[highsierra]

Say nothing, look innocent. I haven't had any problems surface hunting in CA or NV, but have learned to avoid the Black Rock. Certain employees there are very vindictive and protective of the rocks in the area.

One time, a few years back, my bud and I were heading into a a high country site and ran into a couple of gals in a Forest Service PU. We chatted for a few minutes and they told us that they had been artifact hunting since daylight. When we got to the site we quickly found it to be seriously pillaged. They had dug under big rocks and piled the debitage on them like they wanted someone to find them. We had to move on to a lesser known paleo site, but I only found one wind worn Mojave that day. Bummer.