WGA Presentation to the DNR at CWES

[zuma]

Today I had the good luck to join Greyhounder at a conference at CWES in Ameryst for DNR rangers, naturalists, and other staff. Bec gave an excellent hour long Powerpoint presentation on geocaching to a very interested group of about 60 DNR staff.

First, I want to give her the Kudos she deserves for a job very well done!!!! Her presentation was very informative and she did an excellent job of answering questions and talking about geocaching in general, and how geocaching benefits DNR managed properties. We were also able to talk about the value of geocaching in bringing folks into the parks and talked a bit about the Minnesota State Park promotion.

In talking to DNR staff before and after the program, and listening to their questions, many of the DNR decision makers that I talked to clearly have a positive view of geocaching in general and the WGA in particular. A number of DNR staff mentioned their recollections of the great job that Brian J. (GrouseTales) and Brian G. (Should’ve Bought Him The Tie) have done over the years in working with the DNR, and their efforts in developing the current policy that allows caches in DNR managed lands. I think it is important to note that the WGA is about more than just the forums or the great events. The WGA has a long history of working with the DNR and other land managers, with the goal of developing a positive working relationship with the DNR and maintain access to public lands. So big Kudos to Brian and Brian also for all they have done to build DNR confidence in the WGA!!!

The one negative to report is that at least one land manager has personally observed geocachers destroying fragile ecosytems in the search for a quick find. The ranger from Whitefish Dunes expressed strong concern about cachers bushwhacking up the dunes, destroying the habitat, instead of taking the established trail, that she said was only 150 feet further. I guess this is a reminder to all that we need to respect the properties that we cache on, and leave no trace of our presence there and no damage to the ecosystems. There is a time to bushwhack, and there is a time to stay on the trail. All of us have a role in maintaining access to public lands. And I am sure I am preaching to the choir here, but all of us need to cache responsibly if we want to maintain our access to public lands.

On balance, the DNR people seem to have a very positive view of geocaching, and there was just the one individual DNR staff member that expressed concerns. Brian, Brian, Bec and others have done a great job in establishing this positive view. We all need to do our best to cache responsibly so that their excellent work is not undone by disrespectful bushwhacking in fragile ecosystems.

zuma

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

A special thanks to all of you that keep this sport going for us. Without your efforts we’d only have WallyWorld parking lots to place our caches.

THANK YOU!!!

[GrouseTales]

A very important person was omitted.

Ken Braband and I formed the team that represented the WGA and met with top state officials on several occasions. Ken, myself, and the WGA board at the time, worked with the State to formulate todays policy.

Ken’s involvement was probably most important of all.

If you have complaints about the policy, please forward to those to Ken 😀

[Mister Greenthumb]

Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved in this. On a smaller scale I would also like to thank the BOD for what I have learned from them and in the forums. This allowed me to just complete meeting with my local Town of Lisbon Parks Department with outstanding success. They were very receptive to geocachers using their parks and I’m now working on putting my first event together that will be on July 27th. They are also interested in purchasing GPSR and holding Town sponsered events in their parks. I’m sure I will be working close with them on that. Again kudos the BOD and the informative forums.

Mister Greenthumb (Bill)

[zuma]

@GrouseTales wrote:

A very important person was omitted.

Ken Braband and I formed the team that represented the WGA and met with top state officials on several occasions. Ken, myself, and the WGA board at the time, worked with the State to formulate todays policy.

Ken’s involvement was probably most important of all.

If you have complaints about the policy, please forward to those to Ken 😀

Thank you Brian for the correction. The omission of Ken was inadverent, and I can only attribute it to posting late at night after a long day of cachin. There are likely others who have helped along the way, and all of their efforts are appreciated for the good relationship that we have today with the DNR.

zuma

[zuma]

@Mister Greenthumb wrote:

Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved in this. On a smaller scale I would also like to thank the BOD for what I have learned from them and in the forums. This allowed me to just complete meeting with my local Town of Lisbon Parks Department with outstanding success. They were very receptive to geocachers using their parks and I’m now working on putting my first event together that will be on July 27th. They are also interested in purchasing GPSR and holding Town sponsered events in their parks. I’m sure I will be working close with them on that. Again kudos the BOD and the informative forums.

Mister Greenthumb (Bill)

Hi Bill,

Great to hear of your work with the Town of Lisbon Parks Dept. Just another great example of being proactive about working with land managers to ensure public lands are available. This is something that we can and should do in our local areas.

zuma

[GrouseTales]

Good work on the presentation !!!

[sandlanders]

Hey, this is great! The more that the Powers-That-Be are exposed to good, solid geocachers and geocaching experiences, the more we benefit. Add another voice to the chorus of being responsible in placing and hunting geocaches.

[Author]

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