Permits For State Forests- Qld?

Dear Forum members, Someone on this forum recently brought to my attention that " It is not necessary to obtain permits to traverse in State Forests In Qld" I think he is wrong however naturally I hope he is right. Can some one please verify this in the know. If this is true then it's a big plus for us Queenslanders, regards David

as far as I am aware, there is a need to get the permission of the state forest body b4 any detecting or fossicking is allowed, but prior to this you need a fossickers license,,, this is as far as I understand it, doesn't mean it is right lmao

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

YibiDavid wrote:Dear Forum members, Someone on this forum recently brought to my attention that " It is not necessary to obtain permits to traverse in State Forests In Qld" I think he is wrong however naturally I hope he is right. Can some one please verify this in the know. If this is true then it's a big plus for us Queenslanders, regards David

Yes its ok to traverse a state forest now as long as its a registered vehicle, they abandoned the old permit system a few years ago

To Steve, Lea & Artrix, Thanks for your info. At first I thought well thats great, less hasles & more freedom. I've had another think about it, how does this system now work ( thats if it does?) Lets assume we've contacted the State Forest body, & they have given us permission to enter a certain Forest. Now the landlord rocks up out of the bushes & questions your intentions. How are we to prove that we had permission to enter such forest? At least with some paper work we might have had a leg to stand on, back to square 1 ( ie nowhere) Sorry for sounding negative but all the red herrings are still there in this riduculous circus, One unhappy chappy

YibiDavid wrote:To Steve, Lea & Artrix, Thanks for your info. At first I thought well thats great, less hasles & more freedom. I've had another think about it, how does this system now work ( thats if it does?) Lets assume we've contacted the State Forest body, & they have given us permission to enter a certain Forest. Now the landlord rocks up out of the bushes & questions your intentions. How are we to prove that we had permission to enter such forest? At least with some paper work we might have had a leg to stand on, back to square 1 ( ie nowhere) Sorry for sounding negative but all the red herrings are still there in this riduculous circus, One unhappy chappy

Hi David...
the law states : there is no prospecting allowed in any Qld state forest....unless you get permission ...they will not give permission and only give you the run around...mate, been there..done that...it's Qld !!! now..as I have stated in another post not so long ago : you are allowed to prospect provided you have gained permission...this permission must be in writing on your valid Fossicking permit which is needed here in Qld....again, forestry will not give you permission, however if you get the ok from the relevant leaseholder of the area , again in writing, then you can fossick according to the license regulations........it is an utterly frustrating thing up here as they all make their own rules ! and everyone just wants to pass the buck......keep in mind that most of the state forests are leased out to farmers who run cattle...contact them and you should be able to work something out...
cheers SS

You are allowed to drive through any state forest here in Queensland as long you have a current registered car and drivers licence the reason I know this is because I rang them and talked to them and they told me I found them to be very helpfull. You cannot prospect in a state forest unless it is under lease and you ask the lease holder for permission to do so get it in writting with a phone number.

To squirrel & Modernprospector, Thanks for the lowdown, you both came to the same eventual answer., get permission from the leaseholder or landlord. My final comments, I just hope the state forests powers to be can give us the leaseholders name & contact no:, as some of the forests are thousands of acres & I don't think all the owners are clearly visible & traceable. I know from experience I,ve been in a few forests & couldn't see any homes, anyhow good luck to people entering state forests ( especially in Qld) cheers from yibidavid

Yesterday I spent hours chasing an answer and to get special permission. The answer is a flat NO from the Toowoomba DPI however Warwick Ranger said I dont see a problem but the Toowoomba Ranger said no definiately no.
I asked about the special permissions he said we dont give it so I emailed the commisioner, local member , and minister of enviroment.
I have a special map 64 for stanthorpe which shows G & M F on large areas all around the areas, when I contacted DEEPI for an answer on what these are they were classified as Gem & Mineral Fields and prospecting was allowed, nowadays they are state forests. Just a not the head of the department in toowoomba told me they used to give out 50000 special permisions a year and the same amounts permits to traverse thats why theres no more permits to travers and a flat no for special permits.

I was on phone for 2 hours 33 minutes , on hold while they found someone who knows for approx 1 hour 15 minutes.... I hate the hold button hehe

twobit wrote:Yesterday I spent hours chasing an answer and to get special permission. The answer is a flat NO from the Toowoomba DPI however Warwick Ranger said I dont see a problem but the Toowoomba Ranger said no definiately no.
I asked about the special permissions he said we dont give it so I emailed the commisioner, local member , and minister of enviroment.
I have a special map 64 for stanthorpe which shows G & M F on large areas all around the areas, when I contacted DEEPI for an answer on what these are they were classified as Gem & Mineral Fields and prospecting was allowed, nowadays they are state forests. Just a not the head of the department in toowoomba told me they used to give out 50000 special permisions a year and the same amounts permits to traverse thats why theres no more permits to travers and a flat no for special permits.

I was on phone for 2 hours 33 minutes , on hold while they found someone who knows for approx 1 hour 15 minutes.... I hate the hold button hehe

Just goes to show how everywhere you go, whether you do the right thing or not, we are burried in bloody red tape,,,,, think the idea in this world is to make it so difficult ppl just give up thus eliminating the problem, bloody sux

as if the forestry will ever provide anyone with the lease holders name let alone contact details

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

What if you were entering the Forest to search for relics or coins, do they consider that fossicking? And if so, do people who detect on beaches or parks need a permit? Anyone know?

My point is, if it is a state forest and there is to be no "fossicking" it would be good to know what the legislation says fossicking actually is, maybe one can get around this and detect but not actually dig? See where I am going with this? Anyone? Bueller?

the fossicking licence in qld is a joke.

all this licence says you can legally do is dig a hole and remove and keep the contents found in that hole.
or to put it another way.
every hole you dig is your mining lease. you can keep what you find.

hmm. its interesting that we as prospectors cant dig around in a state forest looking for gold or gems, but me as an entomologist can dig around for insect larvae to my hearts content..... whats the difference? i have permits to do this in state forrests and nat parks. why cant we easily obtain such permits to fossick in said areas? its all b/s.....

Hi Corydale
This bit of information is very interesting can you please provide more info maybe some links to the info in this regard, I wonder if you had a permit like you mention & use a detector for some reason to locate the remains of something would this be legal?????????????????????????
cheers
Lee

I work for myself in SF areas amongst other places and find the foresters from DERM and FPQ are good blokes to get along with. The stock squad do have cameras in some areas because there are people shooting things they shouldn't be like cattle. You will get a visit from the boys with your vehicle photo in hand if you drive through one of these areas. Make sure you get to know who is running the show and be honest about what you want to do.
A lot of roads have been let grow over in recent years too. That is another story. Be prepared for poor road conditions (carry a winch and small chain saw).