[meteorite-list] Subject: The Unlikely Struggle Of The Family Whose Neighbor Is Area 51

From: ian macleod <ianmacca81_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:58:27 +1100
Message-ID: <BAY181-W66BDB12D356A3E6C870083CD120_at_phx.gbl>

Hi Mike and Adam,


great article and info mate's. I can say from an Australian point of view that we have plenty of areas perfect for hunting but we have the problem of land owners not wanting hunters roaming around due to public liability issues. Some farmers/land owners are just simply difficult. We have private and public lands that have semi or full protection laws inorder to keep plants, animals and sacred sites protected. For example the Henbury craters, the NT museum in their wisdom decided that they don't want people hunting around there to find what little material remains. This has a negative and positive result. Positive being visitors wont find (hopefully) the craters and rims destroyed by more digging, the negative being any masses that remain wont be found so quick. When I vitited the site last year I found areas damaged by hunters. Also the ejecta array was partially destroyed by the creation of the carpark/road. This damage was mentioned in Svends and Don McColls Book on Henbury.



Private ownership and owners rights are an extremely important issue and are the foundation for personal liberty and justice, so I can most certainly see the concerns people have.



Isn't it funny that big business always manages to get away with what they want also, guess $$$ talks

 

A balance and pragmatic approach needs to be found, in all reality if Meteorites were on BLM land would removing them be a huge impact to the local environment - offcourse not. Most would be surface or subsurface finds making up little of the many km's playa.



I am planning on hunting in a national park soon, the local museum and two scientist already know my intentions. Now if I find something it will be submitted to the Museum (according to law, another issue) but finding a meteorite on public land here is not an issue, its actually getting people to submit these finds. I laugh when the museum says they have had only three actual finds turned in to SAM and two were well known irons from another territory. Obviously the people who know what they are looking for don't turn them in.



So on a positive in the USA you can keep your find but they are saying don't hunt on BLM land, this will just lead to people fudging find locations and off setting strewn fields by 50km :) Leading to less accurate scientific data. Is BLM land off limits to hunting and digging or just human's travelling on in general?



NWA seems to be one of the last final frontiers for the commoner to obtain a meteorite to own, so I say to everyone while the going is good buy what you can from people with lunars and rare types.



I personally can see all western governments becoming more restrictive in scientific items/ownership. It seems inevitable





Cheers from the soviet socialist republic of Australia



Ian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                
Received on Thu 12 Nov 2015 04:58:27 AM PST