If you heard or read the story, you probably heard the reporter mention that placing a cache in any National Park (or National Monument site) is illegal. Just in case you were not aware of this rule, its been around for quite some time. he J-Man has had it posted on geocaching.com on the page that explains how to create a cache. I’ll quote it here for reference:
Will it be on private or public land?
– If you place it on private land, please ask permission before putting it there! If you place the cache on public lands you need to contact the managing agency to find out about their rules. You will be in violation of federal regulation by placing a cache in any area administered by the National Park Service (US). The National Park regulations are intended to protect the fragile environment, and historical and cultural areas found in the parks.
Way to go NPR! It was a story, that I just caught the end of, on Market Place in March last year that let me in on Geocaching. I did not cache the URL so I e-mailed Market Place and they got right back to me. Now why that story was on Market Place is something I also should have asked.