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Colorado Prospector - Gem and mineral prospecting and mining forums _ Chat, Cam Events and Introductions _ New, and basically "lost".
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 1 2011, 10:18 AM
Hi.
I'm new, and entirely lost.
So far, I've been buying and reading books on Colorado Geology, Gold Panning, Metal Detecting, Gem Hunting and Meteorite Hunting.
I haven't any real experience with this, but I thought the best step would be to register here and join right in.
I live in SW Denver area and have lots of interests, but I'm entirely new at prospecting.
My name is Bruce and I'm 63 years old and have lived in Colorado since 1972. I'm retired, so I have some free time on weekdays to search.
It is a little problematic that my interests in prospecting are steering me in the aforemention areas all at the same time.
So at the risk of being driven entirely "cuckoo" I'm going to make a stab at getting acquainted with those of you with experience.
I have an interesting in looking into some Federal Lands, but I get conflicting reports as to what I can and cannot do in them.
Can I use a Metal Detector on Federal Lands to find Meteorites?
Posted by: russau Dec 2 2011, 07:22 AM
id say your best move would be to join the CP club. this will get you the info you need, and info on land you can access, and meet a lot of real nice people! and your first step was a good one to come here and ask!if i lived closer, id join myself.
Posted by: ASTROBLEME Dec 2 2011, 07:59 AM
Can I use a Metal Detector on Federal Lands to find Meteorites?
Hello YaxisX,
While I'm not an attorney and do not offer any legal advice on meteorite hunting on Federal Lands, here is my opinion, for what it is worth...
Surface Finds: If the meteorite is found on the surface, ownership is tied to the "surface estate" which in most cases on Federal Lands is US Department of Interior.
Buried Finds: If the meteorite is buried, then ownership is part of the "mineral estate" or in other words whoever controls the mineral rights on that parcel.
ASTROBLEME
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 2 2011, 02:50 PM
Hi Russau. Thanks for writing back to me. I did join and am a CP member with an "annual" membership.
I am a bit lost on the website though, I cannot tell where to go to start writing to other members.
Did I pick the right area?
Can I post in the Protected Area?
Is this where I should introduce myself?
The more people write to me, and tell me where to go and what to look at, the more it will help.
Thanks,
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 2 2011, 02:52 PM
While I'm not an attorney and do not offer any legal advice on meteorite hunting on Federal Lands, here is my opinion, for what it is worth...
Surface Finds: If the meteorite is found on the surface, ownership is tied to the "surface estate" which in most cases on Federal Lands is US Department of Interior.
Buried Finds: If the meteorite is buried, then ownership is part of the "mineral estate" or in other words whoever controls the mineral rights on that parcel.
ASTROBLEME
Thanks Astrobleme. I'll be very cautious about the Federal Lands until I know for sure.
Posted by: swizz Dec 2 2011, 04:25 PM
Hi axis and welcome to CP!
I think you're doing fine on the introduction and if it's in the wrong topic category.. no big deal. Dan or Denise will move it for you if that's the case.
What's more important is that you're taking the time to research your activities prior to field work and I applaud you for this. 
My advice would be to continue asking questions. There are a lot of resources within the site and members who are always willing to offer their help.
The Forum has a list of "Categories". Each "Category" has a brief description of what is typically posted within it as "Topics"... which is what you started here.
The "Protected" category is for club members only and you must use a password to access it. The password is emailed to the address you provided when you joined. Each month the password changes so it's imperative to check your emails and change your access password on a monthly basis.
Most forum discussions occur on the public Categories and the "Protected" Category is where monthly club newsletters are posted, outing information,club-sensitive areas and things of that nature are typically discussed.
Once you master the "Search" feature of this site your research potential is limitless. If you can't find what you're looking for or have questions of any kind, I recommend starting a new Topic in the Category which best suits the question.
If you are trying to contact a specific member... click on the tiny arrow to the right of their name and options will appear in a drop-down menu. Select "Send Message" to send an individual a private message.
Keep on diggin' and hope this helps!! Glad to have you on board.
Posted by: ColoradoProspector Dec 5 2011, 09:43 AM
Hi Bruce and welcome.
Swizz is right, once you figure out the search feature for the forums it's very easy to find threads on specific topics just remember there is a 4 letter minumum for any word searched. I agree, kudos to you for researching and asking the right questions too.
No worries on placement of this thread either, as Swizz said, if it needs moved we can easily do that from the admin/moderator controls if needed.
For your main question......can you metal detect on FS or BLM lands for meteorites?
Before answering I must also say that I am not a lawyer either, and in my opinion......FS and BLM are only management agencies and neither of those governmental departments "own the lands".....in fact quite the opposite.
We the citizens are the owners of those lands and they (gov dept's) are delegated the authority to "manage" those lands......that does not mean they own those lands.
Ownership of those lands is the crux of why we the citizens have the right to prospect, stake and file claims today.....the pioneers "owned/occupied the land" before it was part of the US territory and never was "owned" by the gov.
FS has been delegated authority to manage the surface use and occupancy (top 6 inches) concerning timber or agriculture only (timber/trees or grazing, etc. or otherwise called "forest products") Under that 6 inches BLM still has all authority for managing minerals even on FS lands. FS has no authority to regulate prospecting/mining at all other than actual "surface resource impacts" from mining operations. And that delegated authority doesn't carry much weight against the mining acitivies.
So the long and short of it is....Yes you can metal detect on FS or BLM lands as long as there are no exsisting mineral claims on that ground. Excluding national parks and monuments of course.....there one can not collect samples of any kind.
Hope this helps some and welcome once again, we all look forward to your future participation.
Good luck on the meteorite hunting too!
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 8 2011, 09:37 AM
Hi axis and welcome to CP!
I think you're doing fine on the introduction and if it's in the wrong topic category.. no big deal. Dan or Denise will move it for you if that's the case.
What's more important is that you're taking the time to research your activities prior to field work and I applaud you for this.
My advice would be to continue asking questions. There are a lot of resources within the site and members who are always willing to offer their help.
The Forum has a list of "Categories". Each "Category" has a brief description of what is typically posted within it as "Topics"... which is what you started here.
The "Protected" category is for club members only and you must use a password to access it. The password is emailed to the address you provided when you joined. Each month the password changes so it's imperative to check your emails and change your access password on a monthly basis.
Most forum discussions occur on the public Categories and the "Protected" Category is where monthly club newsletters are posted, outing information,club-sensitive areas and things of that nature are typically discussed.
Once you master the "Search" feature of this site your research potential is limitless. If you can't find what you're looking for or have questions of any kind, I recommend starting a new Topic in the Category which best suits the question.
If you are trying to contact a specific member... click on the tiny arrow to the right of their name and options will appear in a drop-down menu. Select "Send Message" to send an individual a private message.
Keep on diggin' and hope this helps!! Glad to have you on board.
Hi Swizz:
Thanks for the comment. I'm on a slow learning curve, but your post is helpful. I look forward to making the acquaintance of all of you and learning more of Colorado's Geology.
I'll just plod along, reading as much as I can from the books, and learning to interface with this website.
It means a lot, you know, when you all say Howdy and such.
.
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 8 2011, 09:43 AM
Swizz is right, once you figure out the search feature for the forums it's very easy to find threads on specific topics just remember there is a 4 letter minumum for any word searched. I agree, kudos to you for researching and asking the right questions too.
No worries on placement of this thread either, as Swizz said, if it needs moved we can easily do that from the admin/moderator controls if needed.
For your main question......can you metal detect on FS or BLM lands for meteorites?
Before answering I must also say that I am not a lawyer either, and in my opinion......FS and BLM are only management agencies and neither of those governmental departments "own the lands".....in fact quite the opposite.
We the citizens are the owners of those lands and they (gov dept's) are delegated the authority to "manage" those lands......that does not mean they own those lands.
Ownership of those lands is the crux of why we the citizens have the right to prospect, stake and file claims today.....the pioneers "owned/occupied the land" before it was part of the US territory and never was "owned" by the gov.
FS has been delegated authority to manage the surface use and occupancy (top 6 inches) concerning timber or agriculture only (timber/trees or grazing, etc. or otherwise called "forest products") Under that 6 inches BLM still has all authority for managing minerals even on FS lands. FS has no authority to regulate prospecting/mining at all other than actual "surface resource impacts" from mining operations. And that delegated authority doesn't carry much weight against the mining acitivies.
So the long and short of it is....Yes you can metal detect on FS or BLM lands as long as there are no exsisting mineral claims on that ground. Excluding national parks and monuments of course.....there one can not collect samples of any kind.
Hope this helps some and welcome once again, we all look forward to your future participation.
Good luck on the meteorite hunting too!
Thanks CP. I'm a slow learner sometimes, but I think you all have made a great website and you represent it very well.
This week, I went to the Colo School of Mines and visited the Geological Museum there. That was great.
I also visited the "prospectors" store in Golden.
This morning, I looked at the website for the Colo Geological Survey and checked out their bookstore. That was good.
My first Metal Detecter arrived and I've got it ready for Ground Balancing.
I have most of my beginning equipment and tools all ready. My grandchildren have had their first introduction to the gold bug.
Thanks for your efforts to help.
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 8 2011, 09:59 PM
I've been typing in my password, but cannot get entry into the "Protected Forums".
Am I no allowed there with an annual membership?
.
Posted by: ColoradoProspector Dec 8 2011, 10:24 PM
Thank you Bruce, we are very glad to hear you like the website and it's setup.
Yes you do have access to the protected forum as an annual member.
You'll need to use the monthly password we emailed to you for access once you're signed into the forum. You'll also use the same monthly password to access the chat room if you ever go in there.
The monthly password changes every month so keep your newsletter notifications handy each month for the password.
Hopefully this helps you get into the protected section without problems.
CP
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 9 2011, 04:26 PM
Yes you do have access to the protected forum as an annual member.
You'll need to use the monthly password we emailed to you for access once you're signed into the forum. You'll also use the same monthly password to access the chat room if you ever go in there.
The monthly password changes every month so keep your newsletter notifications handy each month for the password.
Hopefully this helps you get into the protected section without problems.
CP
Okay CP. Here's my next curiousity.
I'm trying to find the part of the forum where the Claims Information is found, as in:
If I could find out where I might go to study this, I would be greatful.
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 9 2011, 04:52 PM
CP:
I am getting bounced around a lot.
I cannot "contact" the administrator, because it says my "default mail client" is not installed.
I've been trying to enter the Protected Forum, but my password does not work. Are the two passwords, one for the regular forum, and a second one for the Protected forum?
Thanks. Bruce
Posted by: swizz Dec 9 2011, 08:06 PM
Yes there are two passwords (actually three for paid club members).
1. Password that you set to sign into the general forums
2. Password that is emailed to you monthly via the CP Club Newsletter for access to the Protected Forum and Chat Room
3. Password that you set to access the CP Club researched areas for Annual Members
Hope this helps!
Posted by: Mrs.CP Dec 10 2011, 10:34 AM
Hi Bruce and welcome.
Here is a direct link to the club members researched areas.
http://coloradoprospector.com/members/ You can find this link at the top left of the website in the green area of links. For this log in, you will need to enter the information you provided when signing up for the club.
I hope this helps some, but if you have any problems or questions, you can always ask here or e-mail us at Webmaster@ColoradoProspector.com and we will be glad to help.
Denise
Posted by: YaxisX Dec 12 2011, 06:27 PM
1. Password that you set to sign into the general forums
2. Password that is emailed to you monthly via the CP Club Newsletter for access to the Protected Forum and Chat Room
3. Password that you set to access the CP Club researched areas for Annual Members
Hope this helps!
Hey Swizz, thanks bunches. That explains my provlem. It's like having triple set triggers!
I think I can work this all out from here. I just need to go back and review my material.
This is a great help. Happy Hunting.
...........Update....some minutes later. I found it, and got it all sorted out. I had come in at the end of Nov, and forgot to look for the December update.
Now I got it. Thanks Swizz. .
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