In this article, the ways in which hobby metal detectorists searching for protected objects in the ploughsoil and archaeologists in Norway have collaborated and communicated throughout the public history of metal detecting in the country is outlined and problematized. Due to the opinions of individual archaeologists working in key positions and the autonomy of the country's local and regional management institutions, there are huge variations in both attitudes and practices toward metal detecting and its practitioners. In some areas, metal detectorists are allowed to search more or less freely, whereas in others, entire fields are protected after a few finds, making continued detecting without formal approval from the authorities illegal. Because of this, and the extreme difference in the activity level of individual detectorists, the number of recorded detecting finds varies immensely across county and regional borders. I suggest that channels for collaboration and communication be formalized and that a national and therefore uniform public reporting system be realized—given that it is, for the time being, largely up to individual archaeologists whether some of the country's most active citizen scientists are equally treated by the archaeological heritage management system in Norway.

Although the legal conditions are perceived as restrictive, metal detecting has become a popular activity in the Czech Republic. In 2017, a questionnaire survey revealed that a significant segment of this community is made up of passionate people interested in history and archaeology. The majority of professional archaeologists consider metal-detecting finds to be important and believe that cooperation with metal detectorists is necessary, beneficial, and acceptable. A collaborative project called “Joint Forces in Order to Discover the Common Archaeological Heritage of the South Moravian Region” aims to create conditions for citizen science among the metal detectorists in the region. By using tools such as expert workshops for the employees of professional institutions, meetings, educational workshops and field activities with interested members of the public, and production and distribution of printed and digital information materials, the partners in the program have long endeavored to improve the mutual understanding of all relevant actors of society and administration. The creation of circles of citizen collaborators is in progress in several archaeological institutions; nevertheless, this process is far from over. In 2020, with the creation of the Portal of Amateur Collaborators, this activity acquired a unified digital scheme for the registration of finds.

Historic archaeological resources in the American West are increasingly at risk of loss because of prolonged droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, general deterioration, and the negative impact of increasing visitation. Casual visitors regularly remove objects from their original contexts in the landscape, either taking them home as souvenirs or bringing them to local staff because they are concerned about the items disappearing. As a result, many sites of cultural significance are losing the ability to convey the information required for scholarly interpretation and for drafting community and life histories of their past residents. We argue that citizen science and mobile apps specifically designed for site stewardship are viable tools for alleviating negative human impacts on cultural landscapes and enhancing our capacity to record and monitor sites of cultural heritage. We contend that our approach uses an innovative interface, the Citizen Preservationist app, an open-source hybrid mobile/desktop software we developed to foster both current use and protection of archaeological sites and historic parks. We demonstrated the viability of our app by conducting a user study at Bodie, California (ca. 1859–1942), that assessed how this software promotes a sense of stewardship and appreciation for the archaeological heritage of this beloved California State Historic Park.

The Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata is a globally endangered passerine from the southern cone of South America. Because of its conspicuous plumage and very attractive song, it suffers considerably from illegal pet trade. The largest remaining populations are found in Argentina, but no coordinated efforts have been made thus far to understand better its current distribution and conservation status. During three annual surveys supported by a citizen science programme, more than 140 volunteers surveyed 644 geographical points during spring and detected 221 Yellow Cardinals. Based on the survey results, we evaluated the presence of cardinals within protected areas in Argentina and found that the species was only detected in four of them, two of which were private reserves with a low level of protection. We also found that the species was not restricted to the ‘Espinal’ ecoregion, but also inhabited ‘Monte’ and ‘Chaco’ ecoregions, which are generally drier. This citizen science programme allowed us to obtain up-to-date information on the remaining populations of the Yellow Cardinal and helped to increase public awareness about the conservation problems faced by the species. We propose some future strategies for monitoring Yellow Cardinals and taking informed conservation decisions.