[meteorite-list] Agreements with property owners

From: John K. Gwilliam <jkg_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:11 2004
Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.2.20040406084349.02805eb0_at_mail.theriver.com>

Maria and List,
The best thing to do is first develop a friendly relationship with the land
owner. Let them know what your intentions are and also ask if there is
anything you can do for them in return. Property owners will always
appreciate news of a broken fence, a sick cow, or other things that need
his attention.

Having been on both sides of the private land issue, here are a few things
I'd suggest you do to help build a working relationship with land owners.

Leave gates the way you find them - closed gates are a no brainer, but
sometimes a gate is left open for a reason.

Impact the land as little as possible - pick up your trash and any other
you see laying around. If you're using a metal detector, fill in your holes.

Don't harass or annoy livestock.

Respect any and all rules or requests you are given.

Report broken fences, sick animals and anything else you might see that the
owner might want to know about.

Offer to help fix the broken fence.

Ask the property owner if there's anything you can do for them. Just
making this offer is a nice gesture. Most land owners won't ask any
favors, but if they do, make sure you follow through.

Ask if it's okay to bring along other people - some folks don't mind one
person on their land but strongly object to groups. How many of you want
to share a strewn field with a bunch of people anyway?

Drive on established roads. This not only applies to private property, but
to public lands as well. Blazing your own roads and driving across
undisturbed land is one of the quickest ways to get permanently booted off
someone's land.

Stay out of restricted areas - if a land owner tells you "don't go beyond
that sign over yonder" , make sure you don't go past the dang
sign. Recently, we were hunting in an area that is adjacent to a
Wilderness Area. There are some very obvious signs that clearly state " no
motorized vehicles beyond this point" posted along the boundary of the
area. In spite of the signs, we saw several places with tire tracks going
beyond the signs and in one instance, several "donuts" spun around the
sign. We've heard rumors that the Feds are now considering shutting off
access to the area entirely because of this lack of following the rules.
Good way to get your fellow meteorite hunters pissed at you

Enough said.

In my opinion, it is better to offer the land owner a fixed dollar amount
to hunt on his property with the understanding that you get to keep what
you find. If you find just one or two meteorites then there won't be a
problem. But, if you find a new strewn field and a bunch of meteorites, be
prepared to renegotiate your deal with the land owner. You probably should
have already got your agreement in writing, but if you don't, now is the
time to do it. Be fair, be generous and call me and report your GPS
coords....;-)

Best,
John Gwilliam

At 06:53 AM 4/6/2004, Maria Haas wrote:
>Dear List,
>
>In the near future I plan to approach a property owner with a lot of
>farmland near where I live for permission to hunt meteorites. I have
>walked other people's fields with permission but have never known what
>type of agreement to make with a property owner for a meteorite find. I
>would be more comfortable if I had something in writing before a situation
>presents itself.
>
>I wondered if you would please share your agreements and experiences (good
>and bad) with property owners as it relates to a find.
>
>Any guidance you can provide will help,
>Maria Haas
>
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Received on Tue 06 Apr 2004 12:23:01 PM PDT