MN State Park Geocaching event

[zuma]

Today, I went to Frontenac State Park in MN, right across the border at Lake Pepin to work on a cache there, and got the details on a great promotion that the MNGA and the MN DNR are working on together. I thought some folks here would be interested, and this is what I learned today:

To celebrate MN’s sesquitenniel, each of MN’s State Parks will have a new geocache placed. The state is paying for the ammo boxes. Each state park manager is teamed with an experienced geocacher to work together on placing the actual cache. (I am placing a multi at Frontenac.)

All 72 caches will be published at 10:00am, May 11.

Cachers who find all 72 of them by the end of the year, will receive a special geocoin minted for the promotion.

The MN DNR purchased 72 etrex’s, and 6 state parks in MN will be “Geocaching Training Centers,” and will hold geocaching classes on the weekends over the summer to train non-geocachers how to cache.

Best Buy has donated $30,000 to aid the promotion, without strings attached.

The MN DNR has evolved over the past 3 years, from having a ban on caches in the parks, to now seeing geocaches as a way to promote the use of the parks and bring in more visitors.

The materials developed cooperatively by the MNGA and the MN DNR are very impressive and complete. I am very impressed with what the MNGA has done here, and am wondering how much interest there might be to do something similiar in WI.

zuma

[Lostby7]

Wow very good news for our neighbors to the West!

[marc_54140]

WOW!

(OK, Seth, the Minnesota DeLorme seems much more likely!)

[elfdoctors]

I’ll be helping set up the cache at Wild River State Park. It would be nice to have a similar event in Wisconsin.

[Team Honeybunnies]

@marc_54140 wrote:

WOW!

(OK, Seth, the Minnesota DeLorme seems much more likely!)

Heh, heh. We’ll see what my imminent heir to all my junk has to say about that in a couple months. Hope to try this though.

This is a great idea, and it’s nice to see a relationship turn completely around like that. At the very least there will be an influx of cachers into the parks. I’m always appalled at the statistics I see about decreasing parks attendance while America develops a symbiotic relationship between behinds and couches. More space for me though…

[zuma]

I wanted to bump this back to the top of the list, since it starts this coming weekend. If I did not have to work, you know where I would be. Looks like a great event. (Team Honeybunnies, Elfdoctors, and myself are planning to do this once we can our schedules worked out, and the newest Honeybunny comes into this world.)

As an aside, it is interesting to note that Best Buy got a lil something something for the money they donated.

Here is the link with all the details:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/geocaching/index.html

zuma

[elfdoctors]

I’ve assisted with setting up the cache at Wild Rivers State Park. Wisconsin should consider an event like this.

[LightningBugs Mum]

That’s cool! I’d love to see something like this in Wisconsin as well.

[cheezehead]

I think Passing Wind is also working on this project in northern Minn.

[zuma]

@elfdoctors wrote:

I’ve assisted with setting up the cache at Wild Rivers State Park. Wisconsin should consider an event like this.

I agree.

z

[zuma]

@cheezehead wrote:

I think Passing Wind is also working on this project in northern Minn.

That is correct.

z

[Johnny Cache]

CBS 58 in Milwaukee ran a story this morning. They had interviews with the MN DNR and some students, but no mention of MNGA. They stated that Best Buy was the sponsor and had donated $10K worth of GPSr’s. I wonder where the other $20K went that Ralph mentioned.

I hope the Wisconsin DNR is taking notes and can come up with a similar idea to promote our great parks.

[emtcop]

the MNGA was asked to help set this all up and they have but now they get nothing to show for it they do not even get a thank you from the MNDNR all the work that went in to it and then to get a slap in the face it is wrong but maybe with all the problems going on in the MNGA the MNDNR wanted to steer clear of them at this time

[zuma]

@Johnny Cache wrote:

CBS 58 in Milwaukee ran a story this morning. They had interviews with the MN DNR and some students, but no mention of MNGA. They stated that Best Buy was the sponsor and had donated $10K worth of GPSr’s. I wonder where the other $20K went that Ralph mentioned.

I hope the Wisconsin DNR is taking notes and can come up with a similar idea to promote our great parks.

Yeah, many of the folks in the MNGCA are very unhappy that Best Buy is getting all the credit, when in fact the event was largely done by MNGCA members. That is one of the current controversies on the MNGCA forums. However, their leadership feels (and I agree) that getting a lot of caches in the state parks sets a great precedent for dealing with other park land managers, and was worth the effort, even though getting credit for the work would have been nice.

zuma

[ArcherDragoon]

I would much rather have the caches in the parks then worry about who was able to “sponsor” the event…gotta get the money somehow 😉
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