Hi Jerry and list, I am not trying to be difficult, but when you say "preservation", how does letting undiscovered irons rot away in the field amount to preservation? Canyon Diablo was a massive impact event and there was a considerable amount of material generated from it - I think there is enough to sustain a limited campaign of responsible prospecting. This would encourage the gathering and reporting of new find data and it would generate new specimens for study and the marketplace. How many "legal" individuals or teams are out gathering Canyon Diablo specimens right now and what are they doing with them? Are they collecting new specimens and "preserving" them?
If an individual is willing to demonstate good ethic and responsibility by reporting find data and specimens, then where is the harm in issuing permits? It wouldn't involve changing the law, the provisions are already there for the permits - it's just a matter of convincing someone to start issuing them. Wholesale and sloppy prospecting of any kind (fossil, meteorite, mineral, etc) should be discouraged and those types will break the law and ignore the rules regardless of what the state or Fed says. If someone with a permit starts selling their specimens as part of a business, then the permit could be revoked. Abuse of the permit, not filling holes, leaving gates open, dumping, etc, would also be considerd grounds for revocation of permission. Well, it's all daydreaming because it's not going to change apparently. It's still legal to take photos, right? Or does that require a permit too? ;) Regards and clear skies, MikeG On 4/5/09, Jerry Flaherty <g...@verizon.net> wrote: > I must agree with youi 100% Geo. > Having had the opportunity, to visit and explore the crater with the > Meteoritical Society in 2007, I was extremely satisfied with the > maintainence of the site and the balance achieved between accessibility and > preservation. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <geo...@aol.com> > To: <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com> > Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 10:08 AM > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] US States & Fed Govt Laws regarding > prospecting, hiking, ... > > >>>>I have to agree with you on Meteor Crater not being accessible for >> prospecting. A person or business should not be able to own a major >> geological feature and deny access and/or use rights to everyone else. >> It's wrong on a deep level. << >> >> It would be even more wrong for everyone having use rights to something I >> view as being a National Treasure at least. Meteor Crater is just that >> unique >> to be protected from that never ending stream of meteorite hunters. After >> seeing how things that are run by governments get runned down, I'm glad >> to see a >> private enterprise is doing the overseeing. If folks were allowed to >> search >> for meteorites in and around Meteor Crater, it probably wouldn't take too >> >> many >> years for the place to look a mess. Trails and dirt roads coming from all >> directions leading to dug out holes all over the place. >> >>>> I guess someone will be purchasing the >> Mississippi River next and telling the rest of us to get our boats out >> of it. ;)<< >> >> Probably not, but if someone did, most likely you'll still be paying the >> same boating fees as before. But I'm sure the government has this river >> regulated already. So we now have inadequate levees, dikes and what have >> you to take >> care of flooding. >> >> GeoZay >> >> **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make dinner for $10 >> >> or >> less. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000001) >> ______________________________________________ >> http://www.meteoritecentral.com >> Meteorite-list mailing list >> Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com >> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > ______________________________________________ > http://www.meteoritecentral.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > -- ......................................................... Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA) Member of the Meteoritical Society. Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network. Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com .......................................................... ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list