2012 – SB81, HB54 and 2011’s HB104
SB81 / HB54 (2012) and HB104 (2011) are virtually the same bills – thus the same
talking points apply.
Key Talking points.
1) Where is the controversy or confusion with the current law? Who exactly is
confused?
a. SB81 attempts to fix a problem that does not exist. In the 13 years since
the 1999 passage of Alabama Underwater Cultural Resources Act there
has been only 1 arrest and conviction for the theft of underwater cultural
resources – Mr. Steve Phillips, the key proponent of SB81. There is no
negative impact from the current law on the law abiding people of
Alabama.
b. If there was real controversy or confusion with the current law we would
see an increase in arrests and prosecutions. This has not happened.
2) The current law and management plan are very clear on what “is” and “is
not” considered a underwater “Cultural Resource”.
a. From the AHC’s management plan and open letter to the dive community
in 2006 - To be considered a underwater “Cultural Resource” an
artifact or relic MUST meet 4 simple tests:
i. Made by the hand of man - not fossils gold or wildlife.
ii. Contained on or in the submerged lands within the jurisdiction of
the state.
iii. Unclaimed for more than 50 years.
iv. Listed or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or
Alabama Register of History and landmarks.
3) Isolated Finds. Isolated finds by divers and individuals are anticipated in the
current law and management plan, and are perfectly legal if they do NOT meet
the 4 tests. This issue was formally settled in 2006 after a long series of open
public hearings held across the State. These hearings resulted in the Alabama
Historic Commission drafting the current management plan for submerged
cultural resources and issuing an open letter to the diving and artifact collection
community stating that the recovery of such isolated finds from non-historic
sites is perfectly legal.
a. From the AHC 2006 letter: “It is safe to say that dropped, discarded items
you would likely find – bottles, tools, old pocketknives, fishing lures etc. –
aren’t and never have been cultural resources under this law. Care should
be taken with shipwrecks or “treasure troves,” as their removal could
violate other state laws.”
b. The key argument from SB81's proponents states that "you can go to jail
for picking up an arrowhead, old bottle or rusty pocketknife from an
Alabama waterway - that is why SB81 must pass". This emotional
argument is a red herring and easily proven false and without merit by
reading the AHC’s 2006 open letter to the diving community. The fact is:
No one has ever been arrested and convicted for randomly picking up
an arrowhead, old bottle or rusty pocketknife from an Alabama
waterway.
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4) SB81’s dangerous blanket definition of only “Shipwrecks” as underwater
“Cultural Resources” reflects a poor understanding of human history and
historic preservation, and is a recipe for the loss of potentially incalculable
knowledge of our past.
a. The idea that “Shipwrecks” constitute the ONLY things of cultural
value beneath Alabama’s rivers, lakes, bays and waterways is narrow
minded and completely unrealistic on its face.
b. Alabama has over 77,000 miles of inland waterways, bays and state lands
beneath the Gulf of Mexico. These thousands of miles of underwater lands
contain the largest unexplored area in the State. Current research points to
human habitation in Alabama going back to at least 12,000 years BC –
much of it centered around waterways as a source of both food and
commerce. The twisted concept that “Shipwrecks” are the only things of
historical significance to be found beneath Alabama’s unexplored waters
is derisory.
5) Why are we considering allowing the unlimited, unregulated, digging and
recovery of artifacts and relics from Alabama’s important, irreplaceable
historic sites and State lands simply because the land is underwater?
a. We protect our important historic sites to learn from our past and to
preserve them for future generations. Thus, we don't allow the
indiscriminate digging up of our state parks, forests, historic sites or
cemeteries with a shovel or backhoe simply because a few people want to
dig up and sell artifacts and relics. SB81 would allow and sanction this
activity simply because the land was underwater.
6) Under SB81 all known historic sites containing any underwater lands will be
subject to looting simply because the land is underwater.
a. Under SB81, ALL Alabama historic sites with any underwater
component such as Fort Morgan, Africa Town, Blakeley, Fort
Toulouse, Selma etc., will be unprotected and open to looting. All
protections will stop at the waters edge.
b. Under SB81, if you are standing in ankle deep water at a historic site such
as Fort Morgan, Blakeley or Selma, you can dig to your heart's content
and keep and sell whatever you find - simply because it's "underwater" while 5 feet away on dry land this activity remains highly illegal.
7) Under SB81 there will be no mechanism to protect or regulate NEWLY
discovered underwater historic sites that are not Shipwrecks.
a. The vast majority of Alabama’s over 77,000 miles of underwater lands
remain unexplored. Humans have inhabited Alabama for over 14,000
years. Who knows what lost history remains to be discovered beneath
Alabama’s waterways? Under SB81 these will be no way to protect
these new discoveries – unless they are “shipwrecks”.
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8) SB81 amends other laws dealing with the theft of antiquities from state lands.
In addition to amending the Alabama Underwater Cultural Resources Act, SB81
also amends other laws dealing with the theft of state property which were
successfully used in both Selma and Baldwin County to prosecute the theft of
Civil War artifacts and relics from the historic old Selma Armory and Battery
Huger at Blakeley State Park. Under SB81 these important prosecutions and
convictions would not have happened and the important stolen artifacts
never recovered - simply because they were not stolen from a "shipwreck".
9) Under SB81 it will be open season for the digging and recovery of ALL
artifacts from Alabama waterways. Although SB81 purports to protect
“shipwrecks” while allowing the unlimited recovery of ALL other artifacts – its
wording makes it effectively unenforceable in the field.
a. Unlike land sites where an enforcement officer can see the excavation
site - underwater excavation sites are “hidden” from view because
they are underwater. How is an law enforcement officer in the field
supposed to determine if a bunch of wet, rusty, encrusted clumps, or
pottery lying in a 5 gallon bucket or boat bottom came illegally from a
“shipwreck” or legally from a submerged historic village or Native
American site? This is an impossible judgment to make. The officer isn’t a
trained archaeologist or historic conservation specialist – yet SB81
requires him to determine if the encrusted artifact or relic came from a
“shipwreck”. This real world scenario will lead to NO enforcement in the
field whatsoever. The result will be “open season” for ALL artifact
recoveries beneath Alabama waterways – including shipwrecks.
10) The driving force behind SB81 is not the “rights” of collectors – it’s Money.
There is a huge collectors market for Civil War antiquities and Native American
relics, and lots of money to be made. In Alabama, many of these relics are easily
found in high concentrations on underwater lands located in state historic sites.
SB81 will open these historic properties (and all Alabama underwater lands) to
the unregulated and undocumented digging and recovery of these relics - which
can then be sold with a clear title and transported out of Alabama.
11) Alabama has a responsibility to ALL its citizens and currently has a
reasonable and fair system to regulate the responsible recovery of antiquities
from its lands while advancing our collective knowledge of history. SB81 will
destroy this system. Under SB81 there will effectively be no regulatory system
whatsoever and the open, unregulated recovery of historic artifacts from
Alabama’s waterways will be sanctioned.
12) If SB81 becomes law - of all the 50 States, Alabama will be alone in foolishly
not protecting its important and irreplaceable cultural and historic resources
- simply because they happen to be located beneath ankle deep water. As a
result, irreplaceable history will be lost and Alabama will become a destination
for opportunists openly hunting for lost treasures. Relic hunting is big business
and there is much money to be made. SB81 will allow and encourage these
opportunists to come to Alabama to hunt our rivers and waterways for relics
and lost treasures - which they will then be free to take from Alabama and
sell.
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