I remember when this law went into effect in Alabama back in 2003 or so. It caused a lively debate here on this board. I hated this law and stated it should be removed. Well it looks like a year ago it was rewritten. Better late than never, I'm really happy it was changed. I also found out the man behind it was fired by the new governor. Its good to see common sense win out.

"The Alabama Historical Commission has relaxed regulations that prohibited divers from removing arrowheads and other manmade objects from the state's rivers without a permit
" Commission member Lee Sentell announced the changes Thursday at Southern Skin Divers Supply, a Birmingham dive shop owned by Steve Phillips. Phillips was convicted in December of misdemeanor third-degree theft for removing a Civil War-era musket from the Alabama River at Selma. Phillips, who is appealing his conviction, has pushed for changes in Alabama's diving regulations, saying they put recreational divers at risk of arrest. "Now Alabama is open for people to come dive," Phillips said.The diver said he hopes prosecutors will dismiss his case now that the rules have been changed. Sentell, who's the state tourism director, said the commission's old rules had discouraged recreational diving, and the new rules will make Alabama more diver friendly. "Scuba diving is important to our outdoor recreation industry. We are confident these changes will encourage out-of-staste divers to return as well as introduce diving as a hobby to a new generation of Alabamians," Sentell said. Divers will still be prohibited from removing objects from shipwrecks, such as the USS Tecumseh in Mobile Bay, that are eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Sentell said. Permits are still required to remove a protected object defined as a cultural resource by the Alabama Underwater Cultural Resources Act. "

http://www.eculturalresources.com/news/781.html

http://www.ssdsupply.com/AUCRAP.htm

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David Upton