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Headed to Gainesville, FL on Sunday and Need Some Help


ChristopherWay

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Hello!

I’ve been tracking my surrounding areas in the last year finding new spots that yield great things. And I’ve seen several people I’ve met in passing hit Gainesville with great success! I’ve read that there were some newer crack downs on fossil hunting in the city limits and I’m reaching out for any further information or even any local hunters willing to get out and breathe some smooth fresh air this Sunday, December 12th?

 

This may be one of my last hunts for a while due to a beautiful life addition coming up!

 

Ive done plenty of reading up on Hogstown and Rattlesnake but I’d love any local information! 
thanks a million!

 

here are a few Teeth I picked up the other day here in Panama City Beach with the dredging going on just off shore

30411147-FCE0-47DF-BCB9-884219284D5E.jpeg

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I wish I could help you! My girlfriend and I live in the Ocala area and have our fossil permits but we have only done peace river and Venice beach because we haven't  figure out where we are allowed to go up here. 

 

We took a walk along some Gainesville creeks in a couple of the parks but didn't want to risk getting into the water. 

 

We have kayaks and sifters but no clue where to go haha.

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Interestingly, I've learned that there has been a law on the books prohibiting fossil hunting in the Gainesville creeks for decades. It seems that it has been generally lax in its enforcement over the years and school groups, rock/fossil clubs, boy scout troupes, etc. have been allowed to poke around in some of the larger creeks in town (Hog Town Creek, Rattlesnake Creek) without being cited. Several fossil guides have also been leading paid trips to hunt for fossils in the creeks in town. A couple years back the inevitable "bad apple" appeared on the scene and put a stop to creek hunting. In a misguided effort to make sure their paying guests were getting good fossils for their money, the guide started excavating the banks trying to access fossil bearing layers. Needless to say this made a real mess of the creek and created a lot of erosion which the land owner (who's property backed up to the creek) was not pleased with at all. The local police were contacted and word went out through newspapers, TV and online media sources that the laws were going to be enforced with renewed vigor.

 

These are urban creeks and so (sadly) there is a lot of trash in them including a fair bit of broken glass. Gainesville's sewer system tends to run close to many creeks and water tests (especially during rainy season) have detected raised levels of microbes that would be enough to close access (if this was a public beach) due to heath concerns. The authorities have included these health risks as an additional deterrent in their caution not to break the law by entering the city's creeks. None of the creeks in town are covered by the Florida Vertebrate Fossil Permit as the creeks are not "public waterways" and therefore not state (public) property like the Peace River. The governing authority for these creeks is actually the county Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is responsible for water quality and access.

 

Leave your kayaks, sifters and shovels at home when you visit Gainesville and instead visit the boutique size display museum of the Florida Museum of Natural History, enjoy watching the bat exodus each dusk at the UF Bat Houses, and catch a slice of pizza at the funky Satchel's Pizza which is an iconic and very quirky novelty restaurant (the pizza's not bad too). ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Thank you for the reply! I do love the museum and the bat houses are very cool! Not familiar with the pizza place though. 

 

My confusion comes from so many of the areas I look into with conflicting information.

 

The Suwannee, itchetucknee and Sante Fe all sound somewhat promising but then I see other information that says SRWMD doesn't allow fossil hunting in these locations.

 

I was hoping I could find where creeks were outside of city limits but I am not even positive that is enough if it is Alachua County DEP managing the creeks. It doesn't help that I am not familiar enough with the area to know where the city limits even are haha.

 

It's very disappointed to have such fossiliferous areas with in reach but no way to access any of them. I'll have to just keep on searching I guess, I suspect there has to be way to hunt the region while remaining on the right side of the law. 

 

Thanks again for the reply! 

 

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Swamptooth said:

I was hoping I could find where creeks were outside of city limits but I am not even positive that is enough if it is Alachua County DEP managing the creeks. It doesn't help that I am not familiar enough with the area to know where the city limits even are haha.

It might be just Gainesville and not all of Alachua County. I need to do some fact checking.

 

16 minutes ago, Swamptooth said:

It's very disappointed to have such fossiliferous areas with in reach but no way to access any of them. I'll have to just keep on searching I guess, I suspect there has to be way to hunt the region while remaining on the right side of the law. 

Lots of fossiliferous areas that are out of reach and off limits. Helps to know someone with a creek on their private property. ;)

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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17 hours ago, Swamptooth said:

My confusion comes from so many of the areas I look into with conflicting information.

 

The Suwannee, itchetucknee and Sante Fe all sound somewhat promising but then I see other information that says SRWMD doesn't allow fossil hunting in these locations.

Yup. Regardless of how popular fossil hunting in rivers is in Florida, there is (sadly) still adequate room for misunderstanding. :shakehead:

 

Richard Hulbert (the person who manages the fossil permits) very frequently fields questions on where the fossil permit is valid. In an older post he was quoted:

 

"Collecting is allowed in the Suwannee River (and its major tributary, the Santa Fe River). But you should be aware that the officers of the local branch of the Fish and Wildlife that patrol the Suwannee very strictly enforce fossil collecting in that river, much more so than in other parts of the state. So make sure you enter the river via public boat ramps, and do not pick up any archaeological artifacts or rocks that can be interpreted to be artifacts."

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/14697-suwannee-river-state-owned-springs/&do=findComment&comment=234546

 

Because Native American artifacts (pottery, bone tools, knapped chert blades/points) are more frequently found in the northern Florida rivers, the FWC officials more strictly patrol folks standing around in rivers with sifting screens. Quite often FWC officials may state that no collecting at all is allowed in the Suwanne River Water Management District (SRWMD). Following Richard's advise to enter/leave via public boat ramps and not to be picking up anything that could be interpreted as an artifact should keep you within the law but does not mean that you might not be stopped and questioned. Always carry your permit with you (in a dry bag or waterproof container) and don't be trying to sneak artifacts. If you are planning of fossil hunting in an area that you think might be questionable, you would probably do best by contacting someone at the SRWMD and requesting specific guidance for fossil hunting (with permit) in a specific section of the river. If you have a letter (or printed email response) from someone at the SRWMD then I'd carry this along with your permit to show any FWC official that stops to check your activities.

 

Be safe. Be smart. Be within your rights. And please do not do things that would cause disgrace to the fossil hunting community and invite legislation to limit our activities. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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17 hours ago, Swamptooth said:

I was hoping I could find where creeks were outside of city limits but I am not even positive that is enough if it is Alachua County DEP managing the creeks. It doesn't help that I am not familiar enough with the area to know where the city limits even are haha.

I looked back through my notes. If the creek is not on private property it is governed by the Alachua County Environmental Department. Patrick Moran seems to be the Senior Environmental Specialist who would handle such permitting. The FLMNH would like to publish an updated paper on the chondrichthyan (shark & ray) teeth that can be found in the Gainesville creeks but even the museum will have to seek proper permits to complete such research. Basically, the only way your average fossil hunter can legally hunt creeks in Alachua county is to contact land owners who have property on a creek.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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I love the Florida Museum of Natural History.  I try to visit at least once every time I'm in Gainesville for a couple of weeks on business.  I like the gift shop too.  I always buy a book or something.  This time of year, they used to sell Christmas cards with a mammoth skeleton on them.

 

A couple of years ago, I saw one of those bat houses at dusk.  It seemed like hundreds of bats were taking off.

 

Florida is like another world to me - no mountains, giant grasshoppers in the summer and Gainesville is surprisingly cold this time of year.  The barbecue is fantastic.

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6 minutes ago, siteseer said:

they used to sell Christmas cards with a mammoth skeleton on them.

Wow! Those would be difficult to stuff into envelopes. :P

 

6 minutes ago, siteseer said:

A couple of years ago, I saw one of those bat houses at dusk.  It seemed like hundreds of bats were taking off.

Tens of thousands at least. I believe I remember hearing that the total population of the 3 bat houses is somewhere close to half a million. :o

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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20 hours ago, digit said:

Wow! Those would be difficult to stuff into envelopes. :P

 

Tens of thousands at least. I believe I remember hearing that the total population of the 3 bat houses is somewhere close to half a million. :o

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

I wondered if I was underestimating.  When you see them, you see a stream of them and you don't know how many you missed.  Depending on where you are, you might have to see them at the right angle or they get lost against the background of trees in the distance.

 

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If anybody is visiting the Gainesville area, I know the best spot to watch them from--looking west so they are silhouetted against the setting sun. They exit the bat houses and fly nearly directly overhead before banking away from some trees and heading out in search of bugs.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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On 12/12/2021 at 11:13 AM, digit said:

Yup. Regardless of how popular fossil hunting in rivers is in Florida, there is (sadly) still adequate room for misunderstanding. :shakehead:

 

Richard Hulbert (the person who manages the fossil permits) very frequently fields questions on where the fossil permit is valid. In an older post he was quoted:

 

"Collecting is allowed in the Suwannee River (and its major tributary, the Santa Fe River). But you should be aware that the officers of the local branch of the Fish and Wildlife that patrol the Suwannee very strictly enforce fossil collecting in that river, much more so than in other parts of the state. So make sure you enter the river via public boat ramps, and do not pick up any archaeological artifacts or rocks that can be interpreted to be artifacts."

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/14697-suwannee-river-state-owned-springs/&do=findComment&comment=234546

 

Because Native American artifacts (pottery, bone tools, knapped chert blades/points) are more frequently found in the northern Florida rivers, the FWC officials more strictly patrol folks standing around in rivers with sifting screens. Quite often FWC officials may state that no collecting at all is allowed in the Suwanne River Water Management District (SRWMD). Following Richard's advise to enter/leave via public boat ramps and not to be picking up anything that could be interpreted as an artifact should keep you within the law but does not mean that you might not be stopped and questioned. Always carry your permit with you (in a dry bag or waterproof container) and don't be trying to sneak artifacts. If you are planning of fossil hunting in an area that you think might be questionable, you would probably do best by contacting someone at the SRWMD and requesting specific guidance for fossil hunting (with permit) in a specific section of the river. If you have a letter (or printed email response) from someone at the SRWMD then I'd carry this along with your permit to show any FWC official that stops to check your activities.

 

Be safe. Be smart. Be within your rights. And please do not do things that would cause disgrace to the fossil hunting community and invite legislation to limit our activities. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

Thank you, that was super helpful! No worries about disgracing the community or inviting legislation. I will only hunt legally and ethically. Definitely do not want to end up on the wrong side of the law or make it even more hard and confusing for people trying to do it the right way in the future. 

 

Thanks again for your help! 

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Thanks for being a white hat and not a black hat. ;)

 

I've been in communication with the local authorities and we're looking at doing a paper in the future about the micro-chondrichthyan teeth that can be found in Gainesville creeks. Here's one of their publications that hopes to present information to clear up any misunderstandings about creek hunting in Gainesville. Basically, the bottom line is don't do it unless you have the invitation of a landowner who has property with a creek on it. And even then, don't go digging up the banks and making a mess. :SadSmile:

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Creek Pamphlet.pdf

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From what I have read about pollution in some of those creeks, I would be very hesitant to go wading around in that toxic soup. Some of those creeks are dangerously contaminated.

 

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I go in with boots. I wouldn't mess around in the creeks if I had open cuts or sores. I wash-up first thing after getting out. Better safe than septic. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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