Comments on: One Woman’s Journey Brings Physical Geocaches to National Park

By: Randy Michyesvicz

Randy Michyesvicz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:48:00 +0000

You said” Many cachers believe the NPS bans geocaching, which isn’t entirely true. ” Hm, I wonder why…
From�
Geocaching > Getting Started with Geocaching > Hiding Your First Geocache� lease note: 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.

By: Mitrustme

Mitrustme — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:42:00 +0000

We were able to place four physical caches in the Gulf Island National Seashore Park in May 2010. It took us nine months of meetings and many hours of talking to the superintendent, and showing him where the caches would be placed. We were finally able to place them after we recievied a user permit which cost us $50.00 dollars and they put us on a six month probation period, if there were no problems we could request to put out more.
We put in that requst last week but they are now wanting us to pay another 50.00 dollars that will be due every year for a user permit, but we are working on getting that changed. We sent copies of the cache pages and showed them how many people had log their finds and what they had to say about the park and if they had camped in the park and where they lived. We also had an event in the park last June and another cacher was hosting one in April and having an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids.
Placing caches in the National Parks are achievable, make a trusting agreement and keep it. You will need alot of patience, it can happen.

By: Asabernathy

Asabernathy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:49:00 +0000

woo-hoo Abby!!!

By: Charlotte Moore aka Hikers2

Charlotte Moore aka Hikers2 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:43:00 +0000

A pleasure to have met you when volunteered at the GWVIII WSGA’s Ape Event. Excellent what you have done to have the two caches placed in North Cascades National Park! Congratulations!!!
Charlotte Moore aka 1/2 of Hikers2

By: hydnsek

hydnsek — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Jan – I’m impressed with your efforts! It sounds like you’ve done everything “right,” and understand your frustration at the impasse. I’ve encountered similar issues at some other parks we work with – old-guard rangers who don’t want to try new things, and erroneous-but-stubborn mindsets about what caching involves (e.g., digging). I had a very rough experience this year along those lines with a city park system.

Two things that worked in our favor for North Cascades NP:

- A young, forward-thinking superintendent who wanted to try new ways of engaging visitors, and an interpretive ranger who was willing to run with it. Based on your comments, it sounds like you unfortunately may have to wait out a changing of the guard in park personnel before you see a new attitude toward caching.

- A smaller, less-visited park that wanted to raise its profile and visitorship. Great Smoky Mountains is the #1 national park in attendance, so like Mount Rainier, it has much less incentive to introduce new activities.

By: Jan

Jan — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:50:00 +0000

We (I) have been trying to get the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to allow physical caches for more than 4 years. I have been a VIP (Park Volunteer) for more than 10 years and our local caching Club has done numorous CITO’s in and around the Park. So it’s not like we have not tried to do our part as a group.
We have met with them many times over those 4 years. Made many proposals that would not add to their workload. Provided reams of positive educational and family outdoors benefits. Had to even show them their own regulations when it came to geocaches. (they are not prohibited, but each Park has to OK the caches) Showed them where other NP’s were starting to allow physical caches. (there are several)
We are completely willing to give them total OK over where a cache can be, what the exact container can be, etc. Even offered to start with a “visitor log” cache in one of several Visitor Centers as a “test cache”. (the logbooks already exist, we would just designate the logbook as a cache) We have offered to do all maintaining of the caches. We offered to start with Earthcaches to see how things would go. Still the answer is “No”.
We have explained over and over again that caches aren’t buried, yet they still keep coming back to us with “we don’t want people going out and digging holes in the ground”. It’s like we sit down to talk with them, but they don’t hear what we are saying.
One obstacle I think, that is holding things up, is they have a Ranger that transferred in from the Everglades. He keeps telling the personnel (head Ranger) we have been building a relationship with that “people tried to get caches allowed in the Everglades too and we wouldn’t allow them. We shouldn’t allow them in the Smokies either”.
It has been a VERY head banging experience, the say the least!
We are on good terms and everything is always cordial. But it’s like they are afraid to make the first step to allow caches because they are afraid their “higher ups” will come down on them.
I have never been for saturating NP’s with caches, and that has never been my intention for it to ever get that way. But NP’s have some of our Nation’s most spectacular places to visit and things to see. Allowing caches to be strategically placed, with total control of the placements left up to the Park Service personnel, would give the Parks free advertisement, more money in the coffers of the NP”s (and surrounding communities) from increased visitation, an opportunity to provide a free educational component to the Park, and perhaps provide for additional physical exercise venues for the people who visit the caches.

By: Good news for geocaching! « geonarcissa

Good news for geocaching! « geonarcissa — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:44:07 +0000

[...] Check out Groundspeak’s official blog to read about a woman who successfully convinced a national park to allow physical geocaches! This [...]

By: Dain Binder

Dain Binder — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Thank you Abby for working so hard on this and doing it the right way by talking with them. It is geocachers like you that set the example of what we are all about; you give cachers a good name!