I absolutely hate making posts like this, but hopefully it will make a difference. Yesterday afternoon, I started receiving a series of emails from Waukesha County Parks about a cache placed using hooks that were screwed into a tree. They had already removed the cache (and hangers) and wanted the cache disabled so people would not continue to look for it when it was gone. Of course, the GC code was not listed in the cache (at least that they could find), so we had to determine which cache it was by description and the names and dates of the logs. Eventually we figured it out and got everyone notified and the cache disabled. The park manager was a bit upset, but at least he recognized that we were trying to work with him in a timely fashion. The sad thing about this is that the hangers looked unnecessary based on the photos they sent me. I’m sure the cache owner thought that his “violation” would not be discovered due to the remote location of the cache. Obviously this was an incorrect assumption.

When you place caches, it is important that you follow the placement guidelines to the letter. Placement guidelines are:
– Geocaches cannot deface or permanently alter property of others, including drilling, nailing or screwing fasteners into trees, buildings or other objects
– Geocaches cannot be buried or partially buried.
– Geocaches cannot contain dangerous or illegal objects, including firearms and knives, drugs, pornography, etc.
– Geocaches should be placed with the permission and knowledge of the landowner or land manager
We provide these guidelines to our land management partners as assurance that we (as a group) are not out to damage their properties, destroy plant and animal life, or alter the landscape. Our game should be about coexisting in the natural environment, rather than changing the environment to fit our needs.

In this case, I don’t believe we have done irreparable damage to our reputation, but every time something like this happens, we are one step closer to getting banned from an area. If you see this sort of thing in the field, please post a “needs archived” note or contact a reviewer so that we can eliminate the problem before it gets a chance to bite us again. Normally, we cannot detect these issues when reviewing a cache, so we are dependent on the community to report when something has “gone off the tracks”.