Success!
New Dive Regulations in Alabama
April 13, 2006
February 18, 2006
Our six year struggle to get friendly diving regulations for
Alabama is at an end. The Public Has Won. We had the worst
regulations you could imagine and now we have the best. The
meeting last Wednesday in Montgomery was very good. Governor
Riley was not physically at the meeting but he and his wishes
were certainly there. He made known to the directors that he
wanted this issue settled now and that he supported the wishes of
the diving public. He wants us to find, recover, preserve and
save our lost history. He knows that the public is best able to
find and save these lost and deteriorating items.
Lee Sentell is a director of the Alabama Historical Commission.
He is also the head of the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel
and a good friend of Governor Riley. Mr. Sentell asked me several
questions at the meeting. He asked me if passing the new
regulations will make the divers happy. I said yes but I did want
the definition of cultural resources made clearer without
delaying the new regulations. I said a letter from the AHC would
be helpful in explaining to divers what they can and cannot do.
Mr. Sentell and the other directors told Ms. Brown to write me
such a letter. She promptly sent me such a letter. Mr. Sentell
then asked me if I was happy and I said I am.
Mr. Sentell then said he wanted to make sure that everyone
understands the regulations and what they cover. He asked me if a
person can now find an arrowhead and keep it. I answered that if
the arrowhead is on an Aboriginal burial mound on land or
underwater then that is controlled and outlawed by state and
federal law. People cannot find and keep an arrowhead from those
sites. An arrowhead found anywhere else underwater in Alabama can
be found and kept. I then asked Dr. Maher, who is the State
Archaeologist for Alabama, if what I said was correct. Dr. Maher
said yes. Mr. Sentell then asked me if someone could find and
keep a cannon. I explained that I have been diving 41 years and
have never seen a cannon underwater except on tourist type dive
sites, not in Alabama. I said if a cannon is located on or
associated with a cultural resource as determined by the
definition of cultural resources under this law then that cannon
could only be salvaged with a permit from the AHC. If the cannon
were located anywhere else then it could be found and kept by a
person. I asked Dr. Maher if what I said was right. He said yes.
Mr. Sentell then said he wants an article in the Associated Press
to make divers aware of the new regulations and that divers can
find artifacts while diving that are not a cultural resource and
that this is perfectly legal and that these divers are not to be
harassed. He then said that this article is to be written by the
staff of the AHC so that there will be no confusion by the public
or by law enforcement. Mr. Sentell told me that he wants to have
a press conference in Birmingham to let the public know that
Alabama is a friendly state to divers. He wants to encourage
tourism in our state. Mr. Sentell is not a diver but Governor
Riley is as well as his family. Mr. Sentell was speaking for
Governor Riley and there is no way for me to express how much I
appreciate what our Governor has done for us.
During the last two years I have been talking to the legislators
of Alabama. I like these people and appreciate them looking out
for the public. If not for our own legislators we would be at the
mercy of the bureaucrats of our state. The legislators are our
representatives and they are us. Thank God for our legislators. I
know some legislators serve special interest groups but everyone
has a special interest. Remember that the legislators can't read
our minds. We must ask them to help us when we need help. They
will help but we must clearly tell them what we want. We must
stay involved in our government and politics. As my friend Archie
Phillips told me, "You must either participate in politics or you
will be a victim of politics."
Several of our legislators have given extreme support for divers
of Alabama. These men have done everything we have asked and more
to get back your freedoms and access to our public waters.
Representative Jim McClendon is my representative from St. Clair
and Shelby counties. He is the reason that the Sunset Review
Committee is investigating the AHC. He also worked with Governor
Riley to fix the problems that we have had. He is wonderful and
we must keep him as our representative. Senator Jack Biddle of
Blount, Jefferson and St. Clair counties has been a workhorse for
six years trying to fix our laws and regulations. He is the one
that gave me the encouragement to believe that we would succeed
if we persevered long enough. He cares about history and is an
avid outdoorsman and sportsman. He looks out for all the
outdoorsman of our state. We must keep him as our great Senator.
Representative Cam Ward of Bibb and Shelby Counties sponsored
legislation for us and supported divers in all of our requests.
He did a great job at several public hearings. He is a young man
with, I hope, a long future serving the people of our state.
These men never asked me if we were Democrats or Republicans,
black or white, Jewish, Protestant or whatever. They didn't care
about that and they know that we are a diverse group that
includes everyone. They not only represented their areas, they
represented the people of our entire state. These legislators and
Governor Riley are running for reelection this year. They have
served us well. We need to now support those who have helped and
supported us. They are proven and not a maybe. Please vote for
them, volunteer to help in their campaigns and give financial
contributions to their campaigns.
Here are their addresses:
http://www.bobrileyforgovernor.com/
campaign@bobrileyforgovernor.com
205-877-4095
Senator Jack Biddle
Jim McClendon Campaign
Committee to Re-Elect Cam Ward
2256 Pinehurst Drive
361 Jones Road
P. O. Box 1749
Gardendale, AL. 35071
Springville, AL. 35146
Alabaster, AL. 35007
http://www.camward.com/
alsenate17@aol.com
jimmcc@alltel.net
camjulward@aol.com
Please let the legislators know that you are a diver or a
non-diver who is interested in these issues.
Now I want to write about the new regulations and what they
allow.
1) Gold prospectors can now find and keep gold that they find in
our streams.
2) No permits are required for any divers to dive anywhere in
Alabama.
3) Permits are only required for salvors to find and salvage
cultural resources. Cultural Resources are certain shipwrecks
that are listed on or determined eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places or the Alabama Register. Currently
the Alabama Register has no underwater listing and no requests
for eligibility. The National Register lists only the Tecumseh in
Alabama. I don't think any other ships have been determined
eligible at this time. Many ships, especially in Mobile Bay
probably will be determined eligible and listed. The state should
be involved in salvage or raising of these historic ships.
4) Underwater fossils can be found and kept in Alabama with no
permit required.
5) Relics and artifacts that are not cultural resources as
defined in the law can be found and kept. No permit required.
Another part of the new regulations reads that two members from
the diving community will be appointed to the Maritime Advisory
Council. This was put in so divers will have input on what
effects them. Bob Cox from Gulf Coast Divers in Mobile and I are
going to be the two that are appointed.
These are the new
regulations that were approved on 2/15/06====>
New Regs
(Underlined text is new wording that has been added. Wording with a line through it is part of the old regulations and has been deleted)
Ms. Elizabeth Brown's letter from the AHC can be read here=======> Letter
Alabama Dep't Of Conservation letter to Ronnie Hyer can be read here=======> Letter
I suggest that all divers print out a copy of the new regulations
and a copy of Ms. Brown's letter. Carry these with you when
diving to inform any misinformed individuals or law enforcement
officers who are confused about our diving laws and regulations.
I think now that we should think about deserving these diving
freedoms in our state. Let's make sure that we record where we
find relics and artifacts. This is so easy now with GPS. I'm not
saying to give away your favorite locations to anybody. Someday
you will be leaving the ranks of the living and you will want
your relics and artifacts to be put in a museum or cherished by
your family. Good records of locations found are important. I
feel that we divers and collectors should do all the volunteer
work that we can, such as:
1) Go to schools, historical meetings, scout meetings and shows
to show your relics and artifacts and to teach about history.
2) Learn to properly preserve and display your relics and
artifacts. The internet is a great source of information on
preservation and we will help anyone who needs advice.
3) Lend, don't give your relics and artifacts to local museums,
schools and libraries. The reason that I say don't give is that
museums will sell things to raise money. If you don't care if
they sell your donations then go ahead and give them. I have
bought at least half of my Civil War collection and I bought most
of it from State Museums. I intend to lend all of my collection
to state museums, but I won't allow them to sell my things. If
the museum closed down I want to be able to move my things to
another museum. I also intend on having some say about how my
relics are displayed.
4) Let authors of books use your collections for their
publications. Make sure that all authors and museums list your
name as the person who provided the item. We have been anonymous
for too long. People need to know that we are relic hunters,
divers and arrowhead collectors. They also need to know that we
are the people who fill the museums with relics. We write or help
write most if not all of the reference books used by museums,
collectors and historians when studying relics and artifacts. We
are the only people who can effectively save underwater relics.
We pay our own expenses and work for nothing. We amateurs have
made most of the large and small discoveries of relics and
artifacts that have been found thus far. We will be the people
who add to the known history of Alabama.
Once again I want to thank all the people who have helped gain
back our freedoms. Especially I thank the non-divers who have
helped us so much. We will try to deserve the help that you have
given us. Over the last few years there have been two statements
at public meetings that I will always remember and that I quote
for you now.
Archie Phillips said: "The academic professionals seem to think
that they have a monopoly on brains."
Senator Biddle said: " A relic ain't nothing until somebody pulls
it out of the mud."
Sincerely,
Steve Phillips
Save Our Lost History
Southern Skin Divers Supply
4515 5th Ave. South
Birmingham, AL. 35222
205-595-3052
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