Metal detecting enthusiast...question about Dunbarton baseball field and Fleming Pike

[LARGO]

That property belongs to Carmen Grasso.
It has been there for years.
been a lot of odd goings on there over the years and I've had fun there my ownself.

g.

 

[tjc45]

The suggestion to MD Atlantic County Parks is a good one. The Rangers at the state parks have been in a bad mood this past year and you might not want to push your luck if one should happen by.

Of course the list of things they turn their head to is long. Starting with swimming at Harrisville and Oswego. Neither is "technically" a designated swimming area. And, the list of prohibited activities going on in the woods is just as long. Of course, breathing is prohibited without a permit. Luckily, for all us mammals, the rangers can't be everywhere.

Cynical? Yeah, just a little!

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

I am not new to the forum, but I could not recover my old password. As many of you know, I am also a metal detecting enthusiast.

Most of the laws prohibiting metal detecting come from one of two things; ignorance and/or peer pressure from special interest groups, such as archeological organizations.

While I understand that places such as Valley Forge and Gettysburg should be off limits, I believe that it should be allowed with certain provisions. NYC Parks and Burlington County NJ Parks are good example of this. NYC allows it in certain parks by permit only, while it is strictly prohibited in others. Burlington County allows it in certain parks only, with a set of guidelines that must be followed:

Burlco rules:

Metal detecting is not permitted within 100 feet of any building or facility. Recovery tools may only cause minimal disturbance and digging may not exceed six (6) inches in depth. Disturbed areas must be restored to their original condition. Articles found that are of apparent historic or personal significance such as artifacts or jewelry must be turned into the nearest Burlington County Parks System office. Metal detecting is not permitted at Historic Smithville Park, the Historic Burlington County Prison Museum, or in or any maintained, landscaped area (including sod).

Here are links to NYC rules and regs:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/permits/metal_detectors.html


It breaks my heart to see hotels and convention centers built on land that once prohibited metal detecting.

The benefits of (responsible) metal detecting certainly outweigh any negative affects. I carry out bags of trash when I leave a site. Most of this trash is made up of beer cans and liquor bottle caps. (Is drinking alcoholic beverages allowed in the State Forest?)

If it makes you feel any better, I had the opportunity to detect such places as Washington and Martha many years back, before it was regulated, or at least before it was posted on the signs. Apparently I was not the first because let me tell you there was not an old coin or artifact to be found. I bet it was cleaned out pretty good back in the 70's.

Here is your baseball field ...Corner of Cedar Ave.

 

[Teegate]

I am not new to the forum, but I could not recover my old password.

You should have contacted me. I don't have access to passwords but can give you a one time new password and you can access your account. Send me a PM.

Guy

 

[tjc45]

If you do MD the state's property in the Pine Barrens, what's the penalty?

ATVer's, drunks, illegal hunting, illegal trapping, illegal dumping, Illegal swimming, nude sunbathers, drug deals, maryjane plant growing, etc, etc, etc

Assuming one would get caught, which considering the level of illegal activity going on back there, is a long shot.

 

[Boyd]

Sure, everybody is doing it so why not place your own self-interest ahead of respect for law, order and the common good? A man is judged by the company he keeps and you've provided a nice list of friends here. Welcome to the club...

 

[tjc45]

Sure, everybody is doing it so why not place your own self-interest ahead of respect for law, order and the common good? A man is judged by the company he keeps and you've provided a nice list of friends here. Welcome to the club...

Everybody's doing what? Breaking the law? If you mean the people who live in the pines, I agree, because they are, by and large, the group of which I speak. For example, it was the locals who trashed the ruins at Harrisville causing the state to move in and fence the place off. And personally, I enjoy a quiet hike on the Batona only to have to step off the trail to let the kids on ATVs come thru. Those kids aren't from Cherry Hill. Their parents bought those machines for them and know what they are doing. The nude sunbathers, the ones i've talked to, all from the local area. Noone from Philly using the pines to get an all over tan. And, when i go to an obsure canoe putin on the lower Batso, 1 1/2 miles off pavement, to find it full of broken beer bottles, who left that mess, the teenagers from Toms River? It's the locals who believe the laws are for everyone else. So save the better than thou speech.

As for MD on state property, I'm a beach hunter, so dirt hunting not my thing. Still, it makes no sense to let campers and locals trash these historic sites and then them call off limits for "Historic preservation" purposes to stop MDers from coming and looking for relics. It is the state bending to special interest groups. At worst, the MDers would clean 20 years of accumulated trash out of the campgrounds.

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

OK, lets not start blaming each other. I am sure there are just as many people "importing" the beer from places like Cherry Hill.

Now lets keep on topic... Where would those nude sunbathers be?:rofl:

 

[tjc45]

OK, lets not start blaming each other. I am sure there are just as many people "importing" the beer from places like Cherry Hill.

Now lets keep on topic... Where would those nude sunbathers be?:rofl:

Respectfully, I disagree. No one does more damage to the pines than the people who live there. Why? maybe, they take it for granted. Or, maybe, it's the independant nature of these folks, Noboby is going to tell them what they can and can't do. To most people in Cherry Hill the Pines is nothing more than a place you drive across to get to the shore. To those of us who know different, we treat it with the respect it deserves.

As for finding those sunbathers, well, let's see, there's the beach on the Owego, and a couple spots on the Wading. But the most popular is a beach on the Batsto. In fact, it's known as B.A.B. That is, Bare A** Beach. I've grown immune, it's really, no harm done, people enjoying nature in their own way, but it can be awkward at times.

To get back on topic, I'm sure if you were metal detecting on a beach with nude sunbathers and the rangers showed up, you'd be the least of their concerns.

 

[johnrocket]

Neil...Thanks for the photo! I am having a hard time finding where that Cedar Ave actually crossed US30? Can you provide a bit of detail or zoom out on the pic? Thanks again for searching for me. I can't wait to get out this spring for some detecting!