[meteorite-list] Park Forest Question - Just the facts, Ma'am!

From: walter branch <branchw_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:10:05 2004
Message-ID: <000001c2fdcd$a3dd2f60$6601a8c0_at_l1s2m3>

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Hi Gregory,

The gist of what I wrote referred to the legalities of collecting
meteorites (or any other valuable) on property which one does
not own, regardless of the owner. I was interested in how searchers
insured that they could legally take home their find

Thinking of my own neighborhood, all the property near to where
I live is owned by either myself, the neighborhood association,=20
or the county.

If I found a meteorite on my property then I think it belongs to me.
If I found a meteorite on the association property then I think=20
it belongs to the association.
If I find a meteorite on county land then it belongs to the county.

Thanks for responding to my question. The only other person to
respond was Twink Monrad and she related her experiences at=20
Gold Basin. We actually ended up discussing
a smelly Gold Basin I once had!

-Walter
---------------------------------------------
www.branchmeteorites.com


  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Sharkkb8_at_aol.com=20
  To: branchw_at_bellsouth.net ; meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com=20
  Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 5:20 AM
  Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Park Forest Question - Just the facts, =
Ma'am!



  Walter:


    It's just that
    we all know that the owner of a meteorite find is the owner of the
    property on which it fell, be it public or private, therefore it =
seems to
    me that permission or some sort of arrangement would have to be
    made with the property owners before a meteorite could be recovered.



  I'm unsure what land to which you refer when you say "the owner of the =
property on which it fell, be it PUBLIC or.....". The public land is =
neither privately owned nor Federal land (a la "Old Woman" saga), I =
don't think. I spent a bit of time in the Park Forest Police Station, =
privy to some of the craziness surrounding the "Garza Stone," which had =
been in Police possession since the night of the fall. (A fun photo of =
stone fragments, including the "big one", and the "Evidence Bag" with =
its mildly amusing description of the bag's contents, is URL'd below!). =
We asked a few of the Officers that very question, i.e. the collecting =
restrictions, and made sure we volunteered to the Officers present that =
we (and most collectors/dealers, to my knowledge) wished to be =
scrupulously legal about collecting, and what was their recommendation, =
re the land-issue? They replied that as long as collectors stayed away =
from obviously private property (or obtained expressed permission from =
the owners), the Police had no problem with collectors finding specimens =
and keeping them. While there were valid reports of police intimidating =
some collectors early on, I suspect it came from uncertainty of a =
situation with which they had had no previous experience, and were thus =
unsure what to do. As the situation played out, it appeared (to me =
anyway) that substantial collecting went on with little or no =
interference from authorities. (As a matter of fact, a few of the =
Officers themselves collected some specimens of their own, and I think =
they were quite willing to entertain offers, although I didn't =
personally witness any sales!) =20

  What a weekend!

  check out the "evidence": =
http://members.aol.com/sharkkb8/Garzaevidencebag.jpg =20

         Gregory


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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hi Gregory,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>The gist of what I wrote referred to =
the legalities=20
of collecting</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>meteorites (or any other valuable) on =
property=20
which one does</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>not own, regardless of the owner.&nbsp; =
I was=20
interested in how searchers</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>insured that they could legally take =
home their=20
find</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Thinking of my own neighborhood, all =
the property=20
near to where</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I live </FONT><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>is owned by=20
either myself, the neighborhood association, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>or the </FONT><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>county.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>If I found a meteorite on my property =
then I think=20
it belongs to me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>If I found a meteorite on the =
association property=20
then I think </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>it belongs </FONT><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>to the=20
association.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>If I find a meteorite on county land =
then it=20
belongs to the county.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Thanks for responding to my =
question.&nbsp; The=20
only other person to</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>respond was Twink Monrad and she =
related her=20
experiences at </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Gold Basin.&nbsp; We&nbsp;actually =
ended up=20
discussing</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>a smelly Gold Basin I once =
had!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>-Walter</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>---------------------------------------------<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.branchmeteorites.com">www.branchmeteorites.com</A></FO=
NT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title=3DSharkkb8_at_aol.com =
href=3D"mailto:Sharkkb8_at_aol.com">Sharkkb8@aol.com</A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dbranchw_at_bellsouth.net=20
  href=3D"mailto:branchw_at_bellsouth.net">branchw@bellsouth.net</A> ; <A=20
  title=3Dmeteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com=20
  =
href=3D"mailto:meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com">meteorite-list@meteor=
itecentral.com</A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, April 08, 2003 =
5:20=20
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [meteorite-list] =
Park Forest=20
  Question - Just the facts, Ma'am!</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica><FONT lang=3D0 =
face=3DArial size=3D2=20
  FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF"><BR>Walter:<BR><BR>
  <BLOCKQUOTE=20
  style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"=20
  TYPE=3D"CITE">It's just that<BR>we all know that the owner of a =
meteorite find=20
    is the owner of the<BR>property on which it fell, be it public or =
private,=20
    therefore it seems to<BR>me that permission or some sort of =
arrangement=20
    would have to be<BR>made with the property owners before a meteorite =
could=20
    be recovered.<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I'm unsure what land to which =
you refer=20
  when you say "the owner of the property on which it fell, be it PUBLIC =

  or.....".&nbsp; The public land is neither privately owned nor Federal =
land (a=20
  la "Old Woman" saga), I don't think.&nbsp; I spent a bit of time in =
the=20
  <B>Park Forest Police Station</B>, privy to some of the craziness =
surrounding=20
  the "Garza Stone," which had been in Police possession since the night =
of the=20
  fall.&nbsp; (A fun photo of stone fragments, including the "big one", =
and the=20
  "Evidence Bag" with its mildly amusing description of the bag's =
contents, is=20
  URL'd below!).&nbsp; We asked a few of the Officers that very =
question, i.e.=20
  the collecting restrictions, and made sure we volunteered to the =
Officers=20
  present that we (and most collectors/dealers, to my knowledge) wished =
to be=20
  scrupulously legal about collecting, and what was their =
recommendation, re the=20
  land-issue?&nbsp; They replied that as long as collectors stayed away =
from=20
  obviously private property (or obtained expressed permission from the =
owners),=20
  the Police had no problem with collectors finding specimens and =
keeping=20
  them.&nbsp; While there were valid reports of police intimidating some =

  collectors early on, I suspect it came from uncertainty of a situation =
with=20
  which they had had no previous experience, and were thus unsure what =
to=20
  do.&nbsp; As the situation played out, it appeared (to me anyway) that =

  substantial collecting went on with little or no interference from=20
  authorities.&nbsp; (As a matter of fact, a few of the Officers =
themselves=20
  collected some specimens of their own, and I think they were quite =
willing to=20
  entertain offers, although I didn't personally witness any =
sales!)&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
  <BR><BR>What a weekend!<BR><BR>check out the =
"evidence":&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
  http://members.aol.com/sharkkb8/Garzaevidencebag.jpg&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
  <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
Gregory<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>

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Received on Tue 08 Apr 2003 08:44:37 AM PDT


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