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Damage in the ditches...

Well I was off today to walk a few creeks with a fellow fossil hunter today when we ran into major destruction in a ditch. No it wasn't from a construction company or a utility company, it was from fossil hunters digging ! These are huge holes. It looks like a missle went into the side of these banks. I am up in arms about this blatent destruction of our ditches. This is ridiculous and it is ruining the reputation of our hobby. Anyway a picture is worth a thousand words so I took a few pictures of the damage before departing to a spot which is not very well known. Fossils are abundant there(although a lot are mangled), but the sifting is really good. Anyway within moments of arrival I scanned the bank and spotted a small point sticking out which was apparently washed off with the recent rains this past week. I tugged on the point and it didn't budge. I thought "Oh my... I might have a whole one." I pushed the muck back and a nice blade appeared. I got excited and after careful toggling I managed to free the tooth and saw the whole root was there. I couldn't believe it...a colorful 2-9/16ths inch long Angustiden. I haven't found one over two and a half inches in a long time. We did manage to find some smaller teeth sifting, but this turned out to be the best find of the day. I am a happy hunter, but at the same time I am outraged at those few who are putting our hobby in jeopardy !

Location

Dorchester County, South Carolina, USA

ID	3264
Member	Greg
Date Added	3/10/2009

Damage in the side of the ditch

A series of deep holes

The damage and mounds of dirt removed from the side of the ditch

2-9/16th inch Colorful Angustiden

Links

Triumph at Lafarge

Triumph at Lafarge

Triumph at Lafarge

Triumph at Lafarge

Comments

- 3/10/2009 Reviewer : Ronbo from	Total Rating : No Rating
nice tooth thanks for sharing, I was down this past wekend and saw some places dug out near the Bi Lo and I seen one guy that sure looked to be digging across from the Y, Its a shame my kids love finding sharks teeath and bone fragments and the ones doing the damage is gonna ruin a good thing for all of us,,
VOTE! Agree Disagree 3 of 3 voters agreed.

- 3/10/2009 Reviewer : Down by the banks from	Total Rating : 10
sweet	Content Quality : 10 of 10 Drool Quotient : 10 of 10 Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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Ummm help me out a little... - 3/16/2009 Reviewer : Memphismom from	Total Rating : 8
OK let me preference by saying I am VERY new to this. Actually I accidentally found out about this hobby while on the beach this past weekend. There were these people looking for what seemed to be very small shells. One couple then showed me SHARKS TEETH!!! On to my question. What's the problem with the holes? Is it what it does to the environment and erosion? (which I find very important) Now remember I am new, and only want to learn and NOT make mistakes. Thanks! BTW that's such a beautiful Angustiden!	Content Quality : 8 of 10 Drool Quotient : 8 of 10 Picture Quality : 8 of 10
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- 3/17/2009 Reviewer : Ronbo from	Total Rating : No Rating
not sure about along the beach but digging in the ditches and the banks down in Summervillle and charleston can get ya a big ticket, They dont mind if ya screen the gravel in the creek/ditch bed but no digging..There is a post on here froma couple weeks ago that had the laws and regs on that..Hope this helps and Good luck..
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- 3/20/2009 Reviewer : AeroMike from	Total Rating : No Rating
Greg, I do not know where these pics were taken but I can tell you I know of two other ditches in the Summerville area that also have had huge holes dug. One is off of Richardson and the other is in the ditch behind the church off of Old Trolley. Matter of fact, a guy that has a house that backs up to that ditch is taking peoples picture in that ditch and calling the police. I can not believe people are this bad where they have to tear up the embankment and ruin it for all just so they can have a chance at maybe finding a larger tooth. It is really sad and this is why I have been staying away from water sites lately and one of the reasons I am being turned off of this hobby, that and so called members on here that will not even introduce themselves at shows even after I have or even answer their emails.......know what I mean weasel? <-----this is not directed at you Greg, nice tooth BTW
VOTE! Agree Disagree 1 of 1 voters agreed.

I know - 3/20/2009 Reviewer : Ronbo from	Total Rating : No Rating
I know what ya mean mike, I sure didnt get many pointers when I started gettin into this shark tooth and fossil hunting,I more like to dive but I got some small kids and they cant dive yet so I take them down around the area because its cheap safe and fun (until it gets ruined) I dont have a clue where any land sites and the place I go was just luck I found it, and we aint found anything huge but it dont matter to the kids they just enjoy the thrill of finding things, how many 4 year olds can tell ya what a ray scute is and even tell ya whether what ya got in ya hand is a bone or just a funny rock...LOL Imma keep taking mine till either they shut down the hobby or the kids get tired of it lol.. Good luck and happy hunting.. Ron
VOTE! Agree Disagree 1 of 1 voters agreed.

The strip miners - 6/5/2009 Reviewer : rourk61 from	Total Rating : No Rating
I wish these people would stop doing this. I was finding some nice teeth not too far from my house when these people showed up and started strip mining the ditch. They dig sidways into the ditch bank up to arms length and then back fill the hole. As soon as the rains come the whole thing crumbles and really mucks up the whole ditch. The sad thing is that it was not necessary. I could just look down in the water and pull nice ones right out of the ditch, now I'm lucky to find anything in that spot. I saw a spot in another ditch where someone has dug tunnels under some trees on a steep ditch bank. The whole bank is seriously eroding and it could undermine the trees. I've met some people doing this and they think that it's ok. I've been hunting shark teeth since I was a kid around here. I'm just now starting to gather information on the different types of fossil shark teeth. This website is very helpful and I'll try to collect fossils in an appropriate manner and I appreciate advice on how to do that. I'm sure I've gotten a little too aggresive in the past with my digging but these people have taken in to an all new level.
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