Re: [meteorite-list] Canyon Diablo Hunting and Laws?

[Alexander Seidel]

> There are various people that are acitively hunting the strewn field. 
> This is done mostly at night with ATV's and metal detectors.

Is this for sure? :-)

> John G. noted: There is also the possibility that some meteorite hunters
> are still working in the strewn field even though it is now illegal.

I´ve been at Meteor Crater for three times in the past 20 or so years, and I
found ever more increasing restrictions, as time went by. When I was there
in 1992, I could still make a complete roundtrip hike of the rim (...though
signs said something like "forbidden" even way back then - well, I admit, a
little red in the face now, I did not care, and they did not do me any harm
- nothing but good luck, maybe..). And when I returned a few years later,
the signs seemed to be much more threatening, clear and distinct, as far as
I remember, so I did not give it another try, both for circling the crater
at the rim or performing any searches nearby. But I have heard of people
searching the area, and the "Barringer police" or whatever they may be
called (I really don´t know) very carefully seems to observe everything that
is being performed there. Is this so, or do I have a wrong impression, which
may be outdated by now?

Don´t they observe the area at night? [...just to get back to the top of my
mail..]
 
> Arizona is an open grazing state and the property is checkerboard with
> state and private land blocks....or at least from my understanding.  Has  
> anyone tried to get a permit to search the state properties?

Hopping from one state square of the checkerboard to the other state square
crosstrackwise, with the help from a GPS reading, avoiding the private
squares? :-)

Almost unbelievable. Dear Arizonian meteorite folks on this list: some more
light shed on this would be welcome...

Best regards,
Alex
Berlin/Germany