[meteorite-list] Roadside Hunting and Ownership

From: Michael Mulgrew <mikestang_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2012 09:55:04 -0700
Message-ID: <CAMseTy3p2rcj19Mt+6krn87QL1p7tXi3W45R34K3h7bvJaA=Jw_at_mail.gmail.com>

Brian and List,

I am a practicing Civil Engineer and have a lot of experience with
road right-of-ways. Generally the right-of-way for Federal highways
are owned by the State through which they pass. States acquire the
right-of-way and build the highways and then can apply for the
acceptance into the Federal system, but sometimes for cost and other
reasons only part of a highway may be introduced into the Federal
system (such as the recent extension of I-210/SR-210 in southern
California). The rural road example you give would be one where an
easement for access across private land has been granted for purposes
of road construction, operation, and maintenance. In the case you
cite the easement probably only extends from edge of pavement to edge
of pavement, thus the ditch is considered private. Ownership of road
rights-of-way should be discoverable at your local County offices.

The BLM does not manage right-of-ways with the Federal or any of the
State systems, so this new BLM policy would not apply to finds made
there. Finds made there would technically belong to the people of the
State in which it was found, and that State's individual rules should
apply.

Best,
Michael in so. Cal.

On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 5:52 AM, Brian Burrer <brimane at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Greetings List,
>
> I have been following with interest the recent chatter concerning BLM
> regulations; questions arise in my mind concerning roadside
> recoveries.
> I would guess that ownership of the find could vary widely depending
> on what roadside it was found on.
> Rural county roads in Texas are typically privately owned; the land
> under the road is owned by individuals who pay taxes on it just like
> the rest of their land. The road is public but the bar-ditch is
> private; ownership clearly falls to the landowner.
> But what about state and federal highway margins; this is not
> typically (maybe ever) BLM land so what rules apply?
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Received on Wed 03 Oct 2012 12:55:04 PM PDT