This topic contains 12 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by 
BeccaDay 12 years, 6 months ago.
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I’ve been caching since June 2012, and have 274 finds at the moment. I got started with some Air Force buddies on a trip to Alaska. I really enjoy my new hobby and hope to meet some new friends up here through this! I’ve already noticed you all do it a little different up here, and have only found one cache on the ground thus far! Not surprising with all this snow. I had one question already. Do you have an “official” process for permission to place a cache in WI? In SC there was no policy. You just asked permission and placed it! I only ask because I’ve noticed some “disclaimer” type messages on the bottom of some cache pages around here. Thanks for the info, and I look forward to meeting some of you at events or on the trail!
And by the way my father also just returned to the area. WV Ridge Runner. I’ll get him on these forums ASAP. He’s on the FB site already. 🙂
Welcome, bigmike!
I’m guessing that you are referring to this statement –
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at: http://www.wi-geocaching.com/hiding
This is required for caches hidden on DNR managed lands. I know that Madison (Dane County) and Milwaukee have their own set of rules, bit I don’t know that much about them.
As far as ground hides, there are plenty of them, they’re just really hard to get to right now with all the snow.
All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.
Welcome to Wisconsin. I hope to see you on the trail some time. I just start last January.
STEMmom
Welcome home! 😀
Welcome back to cheese land! 🙂
Big mike welcome back. I see you’ve received a few answers to your question. I’ll pass a little more along to you tomorrow.
Following the signals from space.
Thanks BigJim! That helps a lot! I’ll have to do a little more investigation into the milwaukee/kenosha area as that’s where I intend to stay. If anyone has more details feel free to let me know! 🙂
Welcome back to the badger state BigMike! I’m in the Milwaukee area as well, and there are definitely protocols to go through for getting permission and hiding caches in the area. Here’s some observations regarding placing caches in Milwaukee county:
– The two geocaching Wisconsin reviewers, Bec & WisKid, are pretty good at making sure the geocaching.com placement rules are followed (not under a traffic bridge, not near train tracks or schools, at least .1 miles from the next closest cache, etc.).
– For permission to place a cache, you normally need to get permission from either the county park system, the city or town, the state (i.e. the DNR), or the land owner if it is private property. Milwaukee county can at times be tough to grant permission.
– Some nearby counties have an online form available for permission to place in their park system. The form for Milwaukee county parks can be downloaded at
http://county.milwaukee.gov/Geocaching21582.htm– The form for Waukesha county parks is found at http://www.waukeshacounty.gov/uploadedFiles/Media/PDF/Parks_and_Land_Use/Parks_System/Geocachingpolicy10.pdf
– I’m not sure if Racine county parks has an online permission/placement form.
– The form for the WIsconsin DNR is here
dnr.wi.gov/files/pdf/forms/2500/2500-118.pdf– Sometimes a park is managed by the city or township itself, and permission would be obtained from them rather than the county park system. When I hid one near you in New Berlin I got permission from New Berlin Parks, Rec & Forestry. When I put one in Brookfield it was from the town of Brookfield Park system. Other times one would get permission from the Waukesha county park system. If you submit a permission form to the wrong department they’ll let you know.
– Generally when one places caches within several feet of a road (such as in a guardrail) they do not seek permission since it is in public right of way land. That’s a bit of a gray area since some feel every cache should have permission before placing. I wouldn’t even know who to contact for a guardrail cache.
– I’ve observed that Milwaukee county can be pretty strict when it comes to granting permission to place caches in their parks and public land. They would prefer the caches to be within 5 feet of established trails (that can be bent a bit), and in areas that would not be environmentally harmed by human foot traffic. I don’t think any of the other counties are quite so strict. Just three days ago I had 4 of 8 caches denied by the Milwaukee county park system because they didn’t want caches placed along a certain segment of the Menomonee River. Ouch.
– Sometimes caches are placed and submitted to the reviewers without getting permission. Depending on the circumstances sthey will often be allowed. It’s nice to state who granted permission if permission was indeed given. It’s also nice to place caches in areas that will not reflect upon geocaching in a bad way.
– Most of the above applies to Milwaukee county, and not as much to the other counties since other counties’ rules are generally laid back or even non-existant with regards to geocaching.
I hope to see you on the trails, or maybe at one of the upcoming social geocaching events within 15 miles of you (3/9 in Sussex and 3/23 in NW Milwaukee)!
8)
Wow, I think that Hack1of2 covered your questions and then some. They’re very helpful like that! So I’ll just say welcome back to WI. 🙂
Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien
Yes, thank you hack 🙂 I think you about covered it! SC was funny about permission. They had no rules it seemed. I wasn’t comfortable placing any because almost everywhere is privately owned and I got stopped 3 or 4 times for “trespassing”. Not cool. Although everyone I explained myself to was fairly laid back about it, no permission had been obtained and it made us all look bad like you said. So now my only cache owned is in my grandmother’s back yard in WV! Lol
Welcome home! Wisconsin is a GREAT place to geocache – even in the winter. I have spent a good amount of time this winter relocating snow – sometimes with success – other times not! Have fun! Come visit us in Appleton. We will make you crazy with all of our puzzles! We make ourselves crazy.
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board.
Yea… Puzzles… Lol Y’all don’t play around with your puzzles up here! I’ve only done one so far, and that’s only because that’s the only one I’ve managed to figure out! Haha That’s down here in Brookfield though. I might be relocated out to Okanamowak (or however you spell that lol) for the next two months so we’ll see how that goes! I love them, even if they drive me crazy. Mostly because I’m terrible at “decoding”. I have a mind that likes to stay in the box I think. Oh well. So far though, I’m loving all the earth caches and virtuals so far. Many many good ones. Saw Caroline Ingells birthplace, and a very cool Revolutionary war soldiers memorial. I’m excited to continue exploring, that’s for sure.
When I was in SC checking out caches I saw several that warned of alligators. You won’t have to worry about that here. But the Mosquitos can be almost as bad.
Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien
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