What program(s) are used to approve a new cache?

[mrbeachroach]

Just curious to what is used to check out the land, and some tips and tricks publishers use to post new caches or deny them.

 

I would like to use them to get ideas about cache placement.

[+StarBrand]

Really no different from the tools everyone of us has use of. The maps. The coordinates.

 

Most importantly - knowledge of local laws and rules.

 

Oh yeah - that and they know the guidelines REALLY well.

[+gpsfun]

Just curious to what is used to check out the land, and some tips and tricks publishers use to post new caches or deny them.

 

I would like to use them to get ideas about cache placement.

One of the more useful tools for deciding on a location for a new cache is personal knowledge of the area, which can be obtained by finding as many of the nearby caches as possible, including multistage and puzzle caches. Discovering that there is a proximity issue after a cache has been placed and a cache page has been submitted for review can be frustrating, and doing some homework up front to avoid this is well worth the effort.

[+Confucius' Cat]

One simple tip is to look at a topo or street map and if there are nearby railroad tracks shown on the map, write a note to the reviewer detailing how close the cache is to the tracks and if perchance the tracks are abandoned or even were removed half a century ago. Abandoned RR tracks are usually fair game, but their existence on a map raises a red flag. I have seen some places where the RR tracks run right through the proverbial WM parking lot- of course they have been gone for years.

 

Also plot the cache on the map and look for National Park boundaries and places such as that that have known policies. Google Earth is also good (and free).

 

Other big issues are private property and other caches nearby.

 

Google Earth is your friend.

[+Quiggle]

This thread contains many of our tips and tricks for cache reviewing.

[+Arndtwe]

This (<--link) is one that I find useful for doing detailed searches, it wouldn't surprise me if the reviewers use it (hence the URL). Other then thses tools, I would assume that they just use plain ol' maps like Google maps/earth I also LOVE Flash Earth (<-- link). It has a whole bunch of different mapping systems in it that give you the most detailed maps that I have ever found ( even better then Google Earth).

[+TeamZebra]

Know the area around the cache. If there are other caches nearby, they must be at least .01 miles from your proposed cache location. Depending on your local rules/laws reviewers may look for other nearby POIs such as schools, churches, cemeteries (Especially in TN - caches in TN cemeteries are illegal), certain state or national park land, etc. Know your local rules.. the regional sections of the forums are a great place to read up on those.

 

On a side note, if a reviewer turns your cache down, don't loose heart, alot of times it's just a matter of moving it to a slightly different location or providing more detailed information about the location. As has already been mentioned regarding railroad tracks. Reviewer notes can be added to your cache to give necessary info to the reviewer and will be deleted when the cache is published to keep seekers from seeing this info if you don't want them to.

 

I recently placed a cache that had to be reviewed twice because my local reviewer was looking at the Topo map for the cache location. It hadn't been updated in several years and made it appear that my cache was in a cemetery... huge No-No for Tennessee where I'm at. I e-mailed the reviewer back and advised the cache was not in the cemetery and that the topo map was very outdated... Google Earth was current and showed the correct location. The reviewer unarchived my cache and it was published. So if you are certain your cache is "safe" and it gets turned down, ask the reviewer what they were using to base their decision on, sometimes it's just a matter of a map not being current.

[+Cav Scout]

Now that makes me wonder .... I once placed a series of caches in a very remote place in Alaska, and please keep in mind Alaska only has about 10 diehard geocachers in the entire state, and had a few caches dissaproved because I was accused of making a power trail. Wow! I see power trails all over the lower 48.

 

Yes they know the guidelines but I feel not all cache approvers follow them.

 

Oh yeah - that and they know the guidelines REALLY well.