I have mentioned this here before....the first bottle club i joined was down in Florida. There was a collector there that also dug the Native American middens that were up and down the coast. Many of these were just bulldozed when they were ready to put up more hotels and condos. There was a guy that came to the meetings, curator of a state museum, and this digger would show him the things he had found. They were both up front and honest with each other, the way it should be. the curator could learn about what was being found in local sites, he could add important pieces to the museum through loan or purchase, and he did not end up with thousands of bits and pieces sitting in boxes, taking up storage space, never being seen by anyone.ORIGINAL: Potlidboy
coldwater
The States of California & Oregon wish to protect anything of historic interest for the people....a great notion. Our very liberal states frown on collectors removing historical items from public land & waters....again a great notion. Oregon recently forbids individuals from removing items on private property, even with permission from the owner or in owning the property itself...not such a great notion. Its a new time...upsetting in many ways. Many other states employ private parties to assist state archeologists in the recovery of meaningful artifacts. For example, South Carolina issues permits to recover fossils which are recorded by the state then returned to the finder. All of the items I have were recovered strictly following the law.
It is a large topic. Common sense and personal responsibility must prevail.
Potlidboy