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Chris,
Would you send me a copy of this document. I would like to include it in the
newsletter for The Chicago Aquanaut Dive club.
I attended The Divers Showcase held annually at Michigan State University this
past weekend. The sponsors of this event were MSU, Michigan Historical Museum
and ZZ Underwater World. Among the events was a Michigan Underwater Preserve
Council Meeting which was very scary. Larry Miller Division of State Parks DNR
representitive from Cedarville Michigan is pushing for legislation that would
allow law enforcement to stop and search any vessel without cause. He claimed
that through the DNR officer training program that the cowboys would be
eliminated so there wouldn't be any unreasonable searches. He is also trying to
raise the fines levied against violators. We were informed many times during the
meeting and in private that articles on the bottom of the lakes belong to the
public and the public loves watching the shows that archeologists put on PBS.
Furthermore, divers are a small minority when compared to the ratings garnered
from these shows. There was also an accusation by a charter operator out of
Marysville Michigan I beleive, that John Halsey the Bureau of Michigan History
head has said the he would like to outlaw diving in Michigan to all but
historians / archeologists. John Halsey got extremely mad and called the charter
operator a liar.
******************************************************************************
Editorial Alert
There is a wide gulf between the diving community and the states. As long as
these folks are literally screaming at each other divers dont stand a chance.
******************************************************************************
Regards,
Mike O'Reilly
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Wreck laws
Author: chris@ab*.co* (Christopher M. Parrett) at UNIXMAIL
Date: 3/13/95 8:22 PM
REPRINTED FROM COMPUSERVE SCUBA FORUM
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fellow divers,
A blueprint has been drawn up by the archaeological community to put sport
divers, treasure hunters, and salvors off wrecks permanently. It is
entitled the "Buenos Aires Draft Convention on the Protection of the
Underwater Cultural Heritage."
Drafted under the auspices of the United Nations, it establishes a
"Cultural Heritage Zone" extending out to the edge of the continental shelf
where everthing of man-made origin is put off limits to everyone who does
not have a Ph.D. in archaeology.
Other "highlights" of this convention include:
- Abandonment being redefined in favor of the archaeologists. The cleverly
removes the main pitfall found in the Shipwreck Protection Act of 1987. The
traditional law of salvage is precluded.
- The old idea of "preserve in place" is promoted.
- The age of wrecks protected is left up to member countries'"
Administrative Convenience."
- Contains a strong "us versus them" theme. If you're not an underwater
archaeologist, you're a "looter."
This convention, if allowed to pass into law, will effectively block
further salvage operations like the Centeral America, any treasure hunting
on Spanish galleons, et cetera, as well as sport diver artifact recovery.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP THIS?
Start by writing to the President of the Underwater Society of America (P.
O. Box 628, Daly City CA 94017), expressing your displeasure. Their
Legislative Director, Anne Giesecke, is named as a party to this convention.
Ask your local dive council or club to draft a resolution opposing this
forthcoming legislation, and send it to the Underwater Society, with a copy
to your federal legislators. It is unknown when this convention will appear
as a federal bill; however, it must do so in order to enact the enforcement
clauses it contains.
Stay alert on this issue. We will try to update status through Scuba Forum
in this section, Underwater USA or any other media available. For a free
copy of this document, you can write to the California Wreck Divers, P. O.
Box 10571, Marina del Rey CA 90291. Feel free to e-mail me as well.
PLEASE REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL AND DISSEMINATE TO YOUR FRIENDS.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Christopher M. Parrett, President, Abysmal Diving Inc.
6595 Odell Place, Suite G. Boulder Colorado, USA 80301
Ph.303-530-7248, fx 303-530-2808
Makers of ABYSS, Advanced Dive Planning Software.
Available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Swedish.
Abyss, Mixed Gas, Technical Nitrox, Recreational Air.
Abyss, Technical Logbooks featuring 22 integrated databases.
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