Feuer Frei!
07-11-11, 11:16 PM
A Chicago man's bid to search for Sir John Franklin's grave in the Arctic has been rejected by the Nunavut government, which ordered him to stop or else face possible jail time.
Ron Carlson, a Chicago-based architect and pilot, planned a self-funded solo trip this summer to King William Island, where he would survey the area with thermal imaging cameras aboard his DeHaviland Beaver aircraft.
"It's just a personal passion," Carlson told CBC News.
Carlson said he has been drawn to all things Franklin, whose ill-fated 1845 expedition to chart the Northwest Passage has captivated historians for nearly 170 years.
Neither the British explorer's grave nor his two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, have been located to date.
Carlson said everything was in place for his trip by mid-May, except for an archeological licence from the Nunavut government.
While he waited for final confirmation from the territorial government, Carlson said he flew to the Nunavut hamlet of Gjoa Haven, which had already granted local approval for his search.
Carlson said he made it to King William Island on June 23, then he finally heard back from the territorial Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (CLEY) on June 24.
"CLEY, in a one-page letter, said I was unqualified and rejected my application," he said.
Carlson acknowledged that he is not an archeologist, but he simply wanted to carry out "aerial scanning and reconaissance" over the island.
With an itch to explore, Carlson said he left his thermal imaging equipment behind in Gjoa Haven and flew to "Boat Place," a known Franklin site, on June 28.
"I indicated then that, 'Well, I'm a tourist and while I'm here, before I go home, I want to fly over there as a tourist like I did in '03, take some pictures, look around, and see the land," he said.
"But then I blogged it, that I went to Boat Place to look at it, and they threatened me with arrest, jail, fines, all of that."
Now back in the United States, Carlson said he believes his application was never really considered by the Nunavut government.
SOURCE (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/11/franklin-grave-search-carlson.html?ref=rss)
Sounds to me like someone didn't want somebody snooping around :hmmm:
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/11/franklin-grave-search-carlson.html?ref=rss)
Ron Carlson, a Chicago-based architect and pilot, planned a self-funded solo trip this summer to King William Island, where he would survey the area with thermal imaging cameras aboard his DeHaviland Beaver aircraft.
"It's just a personal passion," Carlson told CBC News.
Carlson said he has been drawn to all things Franklin, whose ill-fated 1845 expedition to chart the Northwest Passage has captivated historians for nearly 170 years.
Neither the British explorer's grave nor his two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, have been located to date.
Carlson said everything was in place for his trip by mid-May, except for an archeological licence from the Nunavut government.
While he waited for final confirmation from the territorial government, Carlson said he flew to the Nunavut hamlet of Gjoa Haven, which had already granted local approval for his search.
Carlson said he made it to King William Island on June 23, then he finally heard back from the territorial Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (CLEY) on June 24.
"CLEY, in a one-page letter, said I was unqualified and rejected my application," he said.
Carlson acknowledged that he is not an archeologist, but he simply wanted to carry out "aerial scanning and reconaissance" over the island.
With an itch to explore, Carlson said he left his thermal imaging equipment behind in Gjoa Haven and flew to "Boat Place," a known Franklin site, on June 28.
"I indicated then that, 'Well, I'm a tourist and while I'm here, before I go home, I want to fly over there as a tourist like I did in '03, take some pictures, look around, and see the land," he said.
"But then I blogged it, that I went to Boat Place to look at it, and they threatened me with arrest, jail, fines, all of that."
Now back in the United States, Carlson said he believes his application was never really considered by the Nunavut government.
SOURCE (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/11/franklin-grave-search-carlson.html?ref=rss)
Sounds to me like someone didn't want somebody snooping around :hmmm:
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/11/franklin-grave-search-carlson.html?ref=rss)