I am so glad our fellow geocachers worked so hard to convince Brown County that geocaching fees are not necessary!!

There are fees to access state parks, use bike trails, camps, etc, so I guess fees to place geocaches is not too far-fetched. However, I don’t think there should be a fee to place a geocache, since the county does benefit from the increased tourism and commerce to the area. We all know that we usually end up spending money geocaching (that Culver’s flavor of the day is also so tempting!)

Dane county, specifically, likes to charge for things as seen here. In the past the WGA has worked with Dane County Parks to develop a geocaching policy. Perhaps it is time to revisit with some Dane County officials again. As geocaching come out from the shadows and more people are involved in it, perhaps Dane County is willing to make some changes.

Bec

What are your feelings about the attempt of Brown County to charge a fee for cache placement, a proposal since defeated? What are your feelings about Dane County continuing to charge $10 annually to place a cache, and what you think the WGA should do about this?

I think it ridiculous to charge to place a geocache much less charge a reoccurring fee for one. I participated in the letter writing campaign when news of Brown County’s plan to charge a fee broke. I think that we as a group should make our voices heard when a matter such as this comes up. When Brown county was considering this we as a group sent letters to the parks, chambers of commerce and the board of tourism. These were important steps in expressing our displeasure in this matter.

I’m thrilled that a few of our members went above and beyond to meet with and express our concerns personally at board meetings. I think that local cachers would be best at addressing these matters but that they should also have the full backing of the WGA including a physical presence at meetings if needed.

I feel the board should actively oppose these sorts of fees, although I have might doubts that you will ever see any changes in the Dane County structure. They seem to like to charge for everything, so geocaches are just one more revenue stream for them.

In my opinion, the best way to avoid these situations is for the WGA to build active relationships with the many parks departments in the state. This will require the involvement of many people and lots of effort, but, when a parks director starts considering regulations for geocaching, we want them to first think of one of us as their key reference point. There are a lot of us out there working with the various agencies to promote geocaching as an activity in local, state and national lands now, but there is definitely room for improvement. Coordination by the WGA board and committees would serve to keep us from duplicating each other efforts.

What are your feelings about the attempt of Brown County to charge a fee for cache placement, a proposal since defeated? What are your feelings about Dane County continuing to charge $10 annually to place a cache, and what you think the WGA should do about this?

WGA is just on the doorstep of creating a positive working relationship with the members of the Wisconsin Parks & Recreation Association. In the current budget restricted world for the departments operating with a tax based budget, geocaching has been viewed as a way to obtain funds. Why? I really think it is for lack of understanding what geocaching is, how it can benefit the parks and who is involved. I do not support fees for placement of geocaches. I would like to see the WGA to take a pro-active approach and continue creating inroads with the various Park & Recreation Depts across our state.

Park & Recreation Depts are also members of regional associations that meet on a monthly basis. It would be great to see presentations happen at each of these (4) regional meetings to increase awareness, sell the benefits of and to better address more locally their concerns.

AuntieNae