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This kind of looks like a DNR policy has been made…
This is what was posted on July, 26 in the Park Shorts (a WI State Parks employee newsletter):
Geochaching
Geocaching has become the newest and hottest outdoor activity. Families can have a fun adventure while getting exercise and trekking on what seems to be a treasure hunt. Geocaching is the activity of hiding a geocache from public view for the challenge of participants using a global positioning system (GPS) device and Internet-published coordinates to locate the geocache. Once it is located, the participants take an item from the cache, replacing it with one that they contribute, and/or sign and date the logbook. It is considered an acceptable outdoor recreational pursuit for most Wisconsin State Park System properties (WSPS). In fact, almost every park property and piece of State-owned land had or has a cache on it.Currently, WSPS lands may be used to hide a container or other human-made object only if the person wishing to do so first obtains written permission from the property manager. In no circumstances shall a container be placed on WSPS lands without prior approval of the Department. The written permission shall be in the form
of a letter or e-mail from the property manager. The property manager shall make an attempt to contact the geocache owner/placer to bring previously placed geocaches located on WSPS lands under compliance with this policy. WSPS employees should not remove geocaches placed on WSPS lands unless the property manager believes there to be an imminent hazard to humans or an unacceptable level of damage to the environment. By September 1, 2003, any geocache found on state property without Department authorization as described below may be removed if the owner cannot be contacted within a reasonable time to remove it.
The following minimum information and guidelines should be included in written authorization:
Name, address and phone number of the owner or original placer of the geocache
The exact location both in GPS coordinates and written description or a map of the geocache site
No location may be used for more than one year.
The geocache must be moved a minimum of once in a 12-month period (and in some instances, sooner) to avoid over-use of an area or the development of volunteer trails.
The Department takes no responsibility for any vandalism or other damage to the geocaches due to such causes as wildfires.
The statement: “The Department of Natural Resources reserves the right to terminate this approval for placement of a geocache container on state land for any reason at any time.
The Department agrees to make a reasonable effort to contact the geocache owner or original placer prior to termination of this approval to allow the owner to remove the geocache or move it to a new location.” If the Department is unable to contact the geocache owner/placer after a reasonable effort, Department staff may remove the geocache.The geocache web site may prove useful because many owner/placers are listed on the site: http://www.wi-geocaching.com.
Obviously, there are concerns that follow this type of activity. Safety for the visitors and protection of the natural resources are our main concerns. The following guidelines shall be taken into consideration:Geocaches, shall not be allowed in areas that cannot tolerate human traffic or disturbance of the soil.
Geocaches are not to be buried. A geocache is considered buried if it must be dug up by hand or by tool. Placing rocks, bark, logs, etc. over a cache is not considered burial. Neither is placing a geocache into a naturally occurring crevice or hole. If a shovel, trowel or other pointy object is used to dig, hide or find a geocache, it is not appropriately placed.
Geocache owners/placers are required to maintain the geocache.
The following items are not allowed to be placed into geocaches: food of any kind, pocket knives or weapons of any kind, illegal items such as drugs, material restricted from minors such as (but not limited to) tobacco, adult publications, and alcohol.
Geocache owners/placers are allowed to move the geocaches to new locations to avoid volunteer trails developing or to make locating the geocache more challenging, but only with prior approval of the property manager. Approval may be obtained verbally, but the property manager is required to follow up with an approval letter or e-mail describing the new location and confirming the approval.
Geocache hunters are not required to seek authorization before searching for a geocache. However, they are required to abide by all rules and laws including admission fee payment and closing hours.
If geocache owners/placers find illegal or hazardous materials in the geocache, the person making the discovery should contact a Department employee before removing the item(s).This is a link to a map of the latest Wisconsin geocaching sites:
< http://www.brillig.com/geocaching/wisconsin.shtml>
Soon, the Division of Lands will address geocaching and future rules for state properties. However, it is currently widespread and a very popular activity. These guidelines should be followed in the interim. Any questions may be directed to Jason Fritz, Chief Ranger at 608-266-2152 or [email protected].[This message has been edited by Stooper and B (edited 07-28-2004).]
Yup, thats the policy that I’ve seen. The DNR has yet to contact me to say whether it’s implemented or not. Until they do, cache approving is status quo.
We’ve made numerous attempts to contact the DNR to inquire the states of our proposed policy. Some of our contacts have passed down this version, but I have yet to receive anything official.
“By September 1, 2003, any geocache found on state property without Department authorization as described below may be removed if the owner cannot be contacted within a reasonable time to remove it.”
Is this a typo or am I reading an outdated post?
I copied and pasted the article straight from The Park Shorts from the date listed above. Seems that the Cheif Ranger has told the park comunity, but not the Geocaching comunity. Maybe it has not been an “official decree” as of yet. Or maybe the policy will be enacted on 9-1-04…
Who knows?
This just goes to show how long the WGA has been working with the DNR. Ken and I met last met with the DNR in Jan of ’02 (I think).
Since then the DNR has been restructured and has a new director of state parks. Our work was put on the back burner. This goes to show that the stuff was written long before Sept 1, 2003, but the DNR is deciminating it a year later.
It’s obvious that the DNR wanted to give cachers time to get their caches into compliance before they removed any caches.
Since the DNR has been dragging their feet, they should have changed the date to Sept 1, 2005.
[This message has been edited by GrouseTales (edited 08-09-2004).]
Last week, kbraband and I were contacted by the DNR. We were envited into a telephone converence with several of the DNR Parks upper level staff.
The WGA and DNR discussed this policy and any problems associated with it.
First off, the policy posted on the top of this thread is INDEED the policy that will most go into affect. As of this time, this is a GUIDELINE and not a “policy”. Until the gets hammered out better, it is there for DNR personnel to use as a guideline for geocaching on state properties. Once all the bugs get worked out it will be more of a “policy”.
Although we are working with the “Parks” dept, this policy is intended to be applicable on all DNR Lands.
An obvious problem we saw with the posted guideline is the date of September, 2003. Geocachers had a grace period until 9/03 to get permission for their caches. This date is a year expired already. The DNR told the WGA we don’t need to be too concerned about this date because this is just a Guideline at this point. Hopefully the policy will have an modified date for cachers to become in compliance.
We discussed the length of the permit which is only 1 year. The WGA suggested that the permit be good for 2 or 3 years, or be non-expiring. The reason for this is that initially geocaches may get a lot of foot traffic/visits. After the initial flurry to find the cache, traffic will taper off. 2 year later the cache may be perfectly fine. Why remove it if it’s not causing any problems.
The WGA suggested that the DNR post the policy on the DNR webpage. Currently if you do a search on the DNR website on the word(s) “Geocache/ing”, you will get zero hits. We suggested the DNR post the info so people know how to get permission.
Once in affect, the WGA will post the policy on the WGA website. We will also be posting a link for the Geocaching Permit form. Cachers would be able to print the form off our webpage and take it with them when they get permission.
The WGA discussed how difficult it may be to find the property manager for a certain chunk of land. It may be easy to track down a manager for a park with an entrance booth, but who do we contact about a section of State Forest? The DNR agreed that this could be difficult. They suggest that if a Geocacher needed help obtaining the name of the property manager, they should contact their nearest “DNR Service Center” The Service Center should be able to help find the correct contact person. The DNR stated they will need to educate the Service Centers that Geocachers may be calling them for this information.
The DNR affirmed that they do not want Geocaches placed in State Natural Areas (SNA’s). They also mentioned several type of properties that may also be excluded from Geocaching. Some of these lands include:
- Natural Resource Areas
- Preserved Riverways
- State Wildlife Refuges
- Areas “closed to hunting” such as waterfowl production areas.
- Other “closed” areas. This may be areas which do not allow access during certain dates.
Most Geocachers should know that caches are not allowed in State Natural Areas (SNA’s). When the WGA’s volunteer cache reviewers check caches, they do not approve any submissions that are in SNA’s. This list is longer then what we are currently enforcing as approvers.
Once we get this all hammered out, we should update our webpage titled “hiding a cache” to include new guidelines with the DNR policy.
Overall we had a very friendly meeting and discussed too many things to mention here. We thank the DNR for contacting us and working WITH us to allow geocaching on state lands.
Now a few words of wisdom from your President (me):Even though this policy isn’t officially in effect, it would be wise for geocachers to start bringing their caches into compliance. If you have a cache on state land, you sould start figuring out who is the manager of that land. You should have this info handy so you know who to get permission from when the policy goes into effect. Better yet, it would be wise to contact those managers and let them know about your cache and ask if it’s ok.
Many DNR managers know where all the caches are in their parks. Many have even visited the caches. Some managers have no idea about geocaching, but then again, many do. It would be best to put your best foot forward and start seeking permission for your caches.
Once this policy is in effect, the volunteer cache approvers will need some proof that you have obtained permission. On the actual cache page, you will probably be required to include the name of the person who issued the permit, and the expiration of the permit. This will allow cache approvers, DNR managers, and cache hunters to know the cache is indeed authorized.
Geocaching.com states that people should have permission to hide a cache. It is assumed that the cacher has obtained the permission. We all know that isn’t always happening. Currently, the only time we require proof of permission is if the cache is located on private property.
The DNR wants to allow geocaching on their lands. They also want a little control over the process so caches are not put in endangered, dangerous, or off limits areas. The DNR has provided us many reasons why they need to know about the location of the cache, and they are good reasons.
Some people may see this process as a big pain and may not want to get permission. I think it’s a small price to pay to insure that we are allowed to continue our activities on state properties. It could be a lot worse, some municipalities require a $10.00 permit fee and a special use permit to hide a cache. The DNR just wants to know where the caches are located and have a little input so it’s in a safe spot.
I thank the DNR for allowing the WGA to be part of the process and seeking our input.
“There are two kinds of hunting: ordinary hunting and grouse hunting.”
-Aldo Leopold, A sand county AlmanacBrian
WGA President
Grousetales at wi-geocaching dot com
KC9GMW[This message has been edited by GrouseTales (edited 09-04-2004).]
Thank YOU Brian and WGA. Looks like we are moving in a very positive direction. Job well done so far in your communications with the DNR. This looks like a policy/guideline worth keeping. I do like the idea of an extended permit 2-3 yrs.
Definitely a policy that Amy and I can live with. Good stuff – Thanks Brian and Ken!
Would it be feasible to develop a contact list for obtaining permission to place caches in various state, county and municipal parks, forests, trails, etc.? As members get permission, post the contact on a separate contacts page on the Web site for others to reference.
[This message has been edited by Ootek (edited 09-06-2004).]
quote:
Originally posted by Ootek:
Would it be feasible to develop a contact list for obtaining permission to place caches in various state, county and municipal parks, forests, trails, etc.? As members get permission, post the contact on a separate contacts page on the Web site for others to reference.[This message has been edited by Ootek (edited 09-06-2004).]
This is a good idea. We could pool the collective knowledge of WGA members after each seeks, and hopefully obtains, permission to place their geocache.
If you have (or want to have) a cache on DNR owned land … contact that park and work with them now! I sent a letter to Harrington Beach State Park last week and just talked to the Property Manager, regarding my “Accidental Tourist” (GCK9CG). He was very helpful to talk with, he check out the cache himself yesterday and is letting me keep it there. He wishes I had contacted him before placing it (he’s right and I told him so), but appreciates me coming out of the woods to talk to him. I’ve added his approval to the cache page listing. If you’re out there, thanks again Andrew for sharing your beautiful park with geocachers!
When I got my permission for my cache on DNR land, the land manager too told me thanks for getting permission to place it and I too gave him the coords and a very descriptive email on how to get to the cache and where its hidden. I told him I would take him to the spot also anythime!, but he said ” I was very descriptive and informative about the cache and geocaching, so he trusted me in hiding it without destruction of property.” He also said he would stop sometime later down the road to check in it and is interested in reading the log and where patrons are from.
So thanks again to the DNR for being very patient and helpful with us Geocachers and hopefully this will make WGA known in more DNR offices! Keep up the great work gang!
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