I too agree with auntiemaria - if every tourist that went there took sand and rocks there wouldn't be much left for the rest of us to enjoy after a while. I agree - "take only photos" - and if you HAVE to have sand or rocks, they do sell little bags and jars of it in the souvenir shops - I have a little bag of sand & sea shells my mom sent me once when she went to Maui - that way you're not taking away from the local's and the rest of us and you're helping to support the area as well.

BashfulV, you read my mind. Sure, our Cape Cod beaches have problems with erosion, but I can't help but wonder just how much of the sand has gone home in a baggie....

In Hawaii, there is also the tiki doll bad luck curse. Remember, Greg Brady found out the hard way.

Traveling w/either sand or rocks is more than likely to get you some extra security scrutiny. Recently, returning from Montserrat, my wife had packed some rock & ash samples from the volcano for her classroom & we got pulled out of line. Once we told them what it was, no problem. Just an FYI.

Aren't tchotchkes the most wonderful decorating accessory?

So let me get this straight:
It is OK to fly in a jet plane to an Island. It is OK to take a gas-powered taxi to your hotel (which is built on what used to be a wetland). It is OK to flush your hotel room's toilet multipe times during your stay. It is OK to go out to eat and sample the local seafood (that as often as not is not exactly caught or farmed in an environmentally friendly manner). But god forbid you take a vial of sand off the beach? The "if everyone did it" argument is a joke-everyone DOESN'T do it, only a small number do. Provide a scientific reference that links tourists collecting sand to beach erosion or other environemtal damage, please. Or give it up.

I am with AuntieMaria, but... is the sand sold as souvenirs? I know in SF they have something like seashells on sand in small bottles.

Sorry Bashful, I missed your post. Sure, spend a couple of $$ not to worry about legality.

I'm wondering where that sand comes from that they sell in the shops.

I hope, from some designated areas... mining holes?

I'm with Larry. Regarding buying the little bags of sand in a store ("Beach in a Bag" or somesuch), I spent more than enough in 10 days on Maui to "support the locals." I live in Orlando, where the aquifer will be depleted in less than 15 years. We're not asking tourists not to use water.

Yea Larry!
My sister brought home a small hand blown jar in which she had placed a few tablespoons of sand from Israel for each family member.
I kept it displayed for many years.
It was pretty and special to her... which made it special to me.
That's good enough.

I must confess to having taken sand from a Hawaiian beach. I pulled my swimming trunks out of my luggage and sand poured out everywhere. I fear there was some small amount in my sneakers, too.

TheWeasel wrote: << I kind of like the philosophy of "Take nothing but photographs". >>

I agree and add, "Leave nothing but footprints."

Woody

Hee hee.....that last post reminded me of a friend in Rio. He had been at the beach all day, then went straight to a party. At the party, the guys started getting a little rowdy, and when another friend pulled out a camera, the first guy turned to moon him. As he pulled down his pants, a ton of sand poured out onto the coffee table! That was pretty classic.

Wow, I never thought about this before. I took home a small ziplock baggie of green sand from the Big Island without even thinking about the legality of it.

I tried to look this up on the internet, and I think taking small amounts of sand is allowed, but I might have needed a permit first, depending on the island.

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 205A-44 says that "The mining or taking of sand, dead coral or coral rubble, rocks, soil, or other beach or marine deposits from the shoreline area is prohibited with the following exceptions: (1) The taking from the shoreline area of the materials, not in excess of one gallon per person per day, for reasonable, personal, noncommercial use, provided that stricter provisions may be established by the counties."

So I could take up to one gallon per day, unless the counties have stricter laws. The only county I could look up on the internet was Honolulu, which has an ordinance:

"Except as authorized by permits, and subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the department of parks and recreation, it is unlawful for any person, within the limits of any public park, to: (1) Cut or remove any wood, plant, grass, soil, rock, sand or gravel." Also, "public park" includes "beaches." This is ordinance 10-1.

So, on the island of Oahu, it looks like I can take sand, but that I would need a permit from the county first.

That doesn't tell me about the green sand or black sand of the Big Island, because I could not find that info on the internet. Maybe someone else knows?

oh, my. how illegal is it? is it a petty misdemeanor or....?

Looking at section 10-1.6 of the Honolulu oridnances, it looks like a fine of not more than $500.00 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. The site I found this at is: http://www.honolulu.gov/refs/roh/10.htm

But again, I don't know about the other islands. The only time I've taken sand was from the Big Island. I never even considered that it might be illegal (but the ordinances might be different from Honolulu anyway)?

Uh-oh, I just found the Hawaii county rules. "Except as otherwise provided by law, no unauthorized person shall remove sand, coral, rocks, soil, or other beach composition from any County beach park." Penalty is a fine of up to $1,000, or 90 days in jail, or both; plus, cost of the proceedings and any damages to the property. It seems even stricter than Honolulu.

Did I admit earlier that I took sand? Um . . . can I take that back and say "just kidding?" At least now I know.

On K`auai appears they've found a solution, instead of taking sand how bout taking dirt as a souvenir (e.g. www.dirtshirt.com)((?)) It's even claimed to bring good luck (e.g. alohafolks.com/reddirt.html

perhaps soon on the BI dirt shirts to appear, etc.

...and don't forget the ~gt;jerky