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Geocaching BANNED in OHIO STATE FOREST's


blb9556

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http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/

 

Please Sign.

 

From NCOGEO.com:

 

To: Ohio Geocachers

 

ODNR has recently banned geocaching activities in all Ohio State Forests. The head of the Division of Forestry, Nate Kirk, verified this information today over the telephone. No public statement has been made and the date of this decision was not revealed. From this point forward all geocachers will be ticketed. The only reasoning they gave was that one person buried a cache in Zaleski S.F. and they caught a few people caching at night, so they banned it. We were invited to voice our opinions at their Open House on June 2, 2010 in Athens, Ohio. We are told that this is the only forum in which they will hear public opinion. That leaves us with only 2 weeks to pull together the Ohio geocaching community and present a strong defense of the game we all love!

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114654175242845

http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/petition.html

 

Write to: nate.kirk@dnr.state.oh.us

Or give him a call at:

614-265-6711

Or visit the Open House: 6-8pm at 360 E. State Street in Athens

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I emailed him.

 

This is what I sent:

 

Dear Mr. Kirk,

 

 

I would like to thank you in advance for reading my email. Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Joel Kratzer, and I live actually in Indiana. But recently my parents moved to Akron. I enjoy visiting my parents in Ohio, and when visting over Easter weekend we went to Quail Hollow State Park.

 

 

We went to this park to Geocache. That was the main attraction for my wife, son, parents and self to visit. Once we arrived, we enjoyed the classified forrest, wonderful trails, and tranquil wetlands. We also found four geocaches. During that time I did not disturb anyone, damage any ecosytems or harm any wildlife. As a matter of fact, left the park nicer than we found it, taking trash and disposing of it properly. I am not alone in doing this. Hundreds have logged these geocaches. Most geocachers do impact the places they visit, in a positive way. It is very unfortunate that a few have ruined this for everyone.

 

 

We will return to Quail Hollow when we return to Akron, and will enjoy those areas all over again. This park has and will continue to develop my son's apprication of nature. And for this I thank you and your department.

 

 

In closing, I only write to ask this: Please reconsider the recent stance of banning geocaching in state parks. It attracted me to your facilities, and made me a fan. I never would have heard of Quail Hollow without geocaching. I can't help but believe this is the case for hundreds of others. I think if you research the sport of geocaching you will find its merit for the parks, and the people.

 

 

Thank you,

 

My Name

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I emailed him.

 

This is what I sent:

 

Dear Mr. Kirk,

...

In closing, I only write to ask this: Please reconsider the recent stance of banning geocaching in state parks.

 

Thank you,

 

My Name

Just to clarify, the ban covers all State Forests, not the State Parks. In Ohio, they are two different things. As far as I'm aware, geocaches will still be permitted in state parks.

 

--Larry

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The Ohio cache reviewers have not been publishing caches in State Forests since around this time last year, when we learned of ODNR's change in policy. This is not breaking news; rather, it appears that a group of geocachers had an unpleasant interaction with a forest ranger.

 

The State Forests, like State Nature Preserves, are encouraging earthcache placements only at this time. There are indications, however, that the State Forests might reconsider their year-long ban and once again allow physical geocaches as they did in prior years. I would encourage Ohio geocachers to work calmly and respectfully towards that goal, rather than stirring up a sense of urgency that seems out of sync with a policy that's been effective for about a year now.

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http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/

 

Please Sign.

 

From NCOGEO.com:

 

To: Ohio Geocachers

 

ODNR has recently banned geocaching activities in all Ohio State Forests. The head of the Division of Forestry, Nate Kirk, verified this information today over the telephone. No public statement has been made and the date of this decision was not revealed. From this point forward all geocachers will be ticketed. The only reasoning they gave was that one person buried a cache in Zaleski S.F. and they caught a few people caching at night, so they banned it. We were invited to voice our opinions at their Open House on June 2, 2010 in Athens, Ohio. We are told that this is the only forum in which they will hear public opinion. That leaves us with only 2 weeks to pull together the Ohio geocaching community and present a strong defense of the game we all love!

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114654175242845

http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/petition.html

 

Write to: nate.kirk@dnr.state.oh.us

Or give him a call at:

614-265-6711

Or visit the Open House: 6-8pm at 360 E. State Street in Athens

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http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/

 

Please Sign. <snip>

All Smokey'sBuddy did here was quote the OP. Probably not exactly what was intended.

According to the post I linked to below, Smokey'sBuddy is Richard Lusk, Law Enforcement/Recreation Administrator for the Ohio Division of Forestry.

It seems Richard wanted to bring this to our attention:

 

Geocaching NOT BANNED in Ohio's State Forests

Edited by Cardinal Red
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[

I received your email and promptly forwarded to 30 people in my area asking them to pass the message on. Two weeks is not much time. Good luck. Athens is only 45 minutes away...I will try to attend!

RobJons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

quote name=Smokey'sBuddy' date='May 21 2010, 05:32 AM' post='4339566]

http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/

 

Please Sign.

 

From NCOGEO.com:

 

To: Ohio Geocachers

 

ODNR has recently banned geocaching activities in all Ohio State Forests. The head of the Division of Forestry, Nate Kirk, verified this information today over the telephone. No public statement has been made and the date of this decision was not revealed. From this point forward all geocachers will be ticketed. The only reasoning they gave was that one person buried a cache in Zaleski S.F. and they caught a few people caching at night, so they banned it. We were invited to voice our opinions at their Open House on June 2, 2010 in Athens, Ohio. We are told that this is the only forum in which they will hear public opinion. That leaves us with only 2 weeks to pull together the Ohio geocaching community and present a strong defense of the game we all love!

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114654175242845

http://www.petitiononline.com/creeks/petition.html

 

Write to: nate.kirk@dnr.state.oh.us

Or give him a call at:

614-265-6711

Or visit the Open House: 6-8pm at 360 E. State Street in Athens

Link to comment

I received your email and promptly forwarded to 30 people in my area asking them to pass the message on. Two weeks is not much time. Good luck. Athens is only 45 minutes away...I will try to attend!

RobJons

 

Hope your relationship with those 30 people is tight and forgiving. You just sent them on a wild goose chase on apparent mis-information.

 

"To the Geocaching Community,

 

Geocaching has NOT been banned in Ohio's State Forests. NO ONE WILL BE ARRESTED FOR GEOCACHING IN OHIO'S STATE FORESTS. For the past year, the Ohio Division of Forestry (DOF) has been evaluating its position regarding Geocaching. This evaluation process stems from several issues the DOF has encountered with caches on Ohio State Forest lands. The main issue revolves around the safety of the visiting public. Ohio's State Forests are working forests, where numerous management practices occur. These practices include commercial logging, prescribed fire and forest research to name a few. Cache's hidden in certain locations on State Forest lands pose a safety risk to the visiting public and the DOF is developing a Geocache Policy aimed at protecting visitors while still allowing the hobby you all enjoy.

 

The new policy is currently being drafted and will be available for public review/comment at all five state forest open houses to be held in July, 2010. Please visit the Division website, www.ohiodnr.com/forestry for the July dates and locations. The Geocache Policy WILL NOT be available for review/comment at the open house scheduled for June 2, 2010 in Athens.

 

I have spoken with numerous Geocacher's this week about the false report that Geocaching was being banned in Ohio's State Forests. I have found the Geocaching community to be warm, friendly and passionately committed to their hobby and the special places where caches are placed. I thank you all for your understanding and patience while we work through this issue. The Ohio Division of Forestry is committed to developing a policy that will provide for public safety and still allow for Geocaching at all 20 Ohio State Forests.

 

Sincerely,

Richard Lusk

Law Enforcement/Recreation Administrator

Ohio Division of Forestry"

Edited by baloo&bd
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"ODNR has recently banned geocaching activities in all Ohio State Forests. "

 

Does this ban include the Metro Parks? I haven't cached in a while and just started doing it again. Since my return, I have noticed that caches that there are not any caches in the Metro Parks around me. -- I would like to hide a cache but do not want to break any rules/laws.

 

TIA for the help!

 

Jamaysha (Akron, OH)

Edited by jamaysha
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"ODNR has recently banned geocaching activities in all Ohio State Forests. "

 

Does this ban include the Metro Parks? I haven't cached in a while and just started doing it again. Since my return, I have noticed that caches that there are not any caches in the Metro Parks around me. -- I would like to hide a cache but do not want to break any rules/laws.

 

TIA for the help!

 

Jamaysha (Akron, OH)

Different types of properties, and different places, have different land managers. It is important to ask first, "who is the land manager?" and then, "what is their geocaching policy?"

 

State Forests are Ohio state lands, managed by the Forestry Division of ODNR. They are presently working on a new geocaching policy, and I am very encouraged about that project. In the meantime, there is a "hold" on new cache placements in State Forests - that's been in effect for a year now.

 

State Parks are also Ohio state lands, but are managed by the Parks Division of ODNR. The Parks have a very geocaching-friendly policy, consistent with the different goals of that agency.

 

MetroParks are parks managed at the county or local regional level. Each MetroPark system has its own geocaching policy. I see you are from the Akron area. The Summit County MetroParks have had an absolute ban on geocaches for as long as I've been an Ohio cache reviewer. It's really unfortunate, especially when you look at all the geocaching programs in other MetroPark systems. Your neighbors to the north in Cuyahoga County have a MetroParks geocaching program that's one of the oldest in the world. Groundspeak sometimes puts land managers in touch with the Cleveland MetroParks as a shining example. Also in your area, the park systems in Medina, Lake and Portage counties have policies that allow cache placements. But not Summit County!

 

When I travel to Ohio for geocaching, I generally avoid Summit County when I need a meal or a hotel room. I'd rather spend my tourist money in counties that are more cache-friendly. More enlightened land managers recognize the growing power of the geotourism dollar.

Edited by Keystone
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