4wheelin_fool Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I have heard that no new caches are being allowed in NJ state parks until a policy has been written. Previously these had blanket permission until a geoacher got involved and wanted more. Any info on this? Quote Link to comment
+weathernowcast Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I was told the same thing. Others, including those in the know, have confirmed the same thing on the Facebook Group page "Changes in Latitude." Quote Link to comment
+TheWeatherWarrior Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) It likely stems from an issue where the park service kicked out an existing caches to make room for their own caches. Because of a backlash they likely are modifying the policy to be more in their favor and discourage placement unconditionally. You will also want to reference the Northern New Jersey Geocaching group that initiated the discussion and if I remember right initiated the action of forcably threatening cachers to archive their caches to better themselves over the good of the caching community. I have been waiting for updates myself as was looking to call on a boycott of the parks but stopped when it was mentioned that there was cachers working with the parks. In fact, it seem to be somewhat of a issue because geocachers from the southern part of the state did not support this and felt the action hurt them more than helped them. So yes, definitely looking for updates. I'm holding any further criticism and such as it may be that the parks and the local caching group apologizes to the cachers affected and returns to an open policy and a first come, first serve basis. Edited January 30, 2014 by TheWeatherWarrior Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I think blaming the events at KVSP and the pending NJ State Park Geocaching Permit policy is pure speculations and pretty much a cause and effect fallacy. From what I read on the SJG site, the Changes in Latitude fb page, and learned by talking to people "in the know". The idea of a NJ State Park Geocaching policy has been kicking around as early as 2003. The current iteration of the policy has been on the shelf for the last 2 years. Any events that happened in November and December this past year just moved the conversation from the back burner to the front burner. I've heard that there was a verbal agreement in South Jersey that a cache received "blanket approval" in 2002. Personally, I am skeptical that a "blanket approval" granted verbally to a user in 2002 regarding a certain area of the state to be something that the NJ State Parks Department still considers valid. Things have changed so much in Geocaching since then, I don't see how anyone could consider this valid more then 10 years later, in 2014. I imagine that Geocaching, for the most part, has been viewed as a low impact activity and basically benign. At least up until late 2012 when the explosion of cache placements happened in the WMA and State Parks & Forest. NNJC has always had a very good relationship with the parks in the northern part of the state. I believe they even won an award at some point. In CJG, we've participated in many CITO, Geocaching 101's and Outdoor Expo's with the NJDEP. So, it's not that we haven't had a good relationship with the parks. My gut tells me that a park superintendent looking at a Geocaching.com map of caches is probably more or a driving force in getting a Geocaching policy in place then a conflict of between cachers. Either way, it's really hard to tell what the truth is as the most vocal group around the issue is quick to blame this on the Northern part of the state, and the truth is, we really don't know for sure. If, in fact, there has been a NJ State Geocaching policy in the works for awhile, pinning this on The Affaris at KVSP is really distorting the face a bit. FWIW, the knowledgebase on GC.com's site doesn't indicate that there is a policy, moratorium or ban in NJ state parks. Quote Link to comment
+weathernowcast Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I think blaming the events at KVSP and the pending NJ State Park Geocaching Permit policy is pure speculations and pretty much a cause and effect fallacy. From what I read on the SJG site, the Changes in Latitude fb page, and learned by talking to people "in the know". The idea of a NJ State Park Geocaching policy has been kicking around as early as 2003. The current iteration of the policy has been on the shelf for the last 2 years. Any events that happened in November and December this past year just moved the conversation from the back burner to the front burner. I've heard that there was a verbal agreement in South Jersey that a cache received "blanket approval" in 2002. Personally, I am skeptical that a "blanket approval" granted verbally to a user in 2002 regarding a certain area of the state to be something that the NJ State Parks Department still considers valid. Things have changed so much in Geocaching since then, I don't see how anyone could consider this valid more then 10 years later, in 2014. I imagine that Geocaching, for the most part, has been viewed as a low impact activity and basically benign. At least up until late 2012 when the explosion of cache placements happened in the WMA and State Parks & Forest. NNJC has always had a very good relationship with the parks in the northern part of the state. I believe they even won an award at some point. In CJG, we've participated in many CITO, Geocaching 101's and Outdoor Expo's with the NJDEP. So, it's not that we haven't had a good relationship with the parks. My gut tells me that a park superintendent looking at a Geocaching.com map of caches is probably more or a driving force in getting a Geocaching policy in place then a conflict of between cachers. Either way, it's really hard to tell what the truth is as the most vocal group around the issue is quick to blame this on the Northern part of the state, and the truth is, we really don't know for sure. If, in fact, there has been a NJ State Geocaching policy in the works for awhile, pinning this on The Affaris at KVSP is really distorting the face a bit. FWIW, the knowledgebase on GC.com's site doesn't indicate that there is a policy, moratorium or ban in NJ state parks. I agree with NikCap 100%. Now if only I could solve his puzzle caches 100% of the time. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Either way, it's really hard to tell what the truth is as the most vocal group around the issue is quick to blame this on the Northern part of the state, and the truth is, we really don't know for sure. If, in fact, there has been a NJ State Geocaching policy in the works for awhile, pinning this on The Affaris at KVSP is really distorting the face a bit. I suspect it has more to do with the rather sudden explosion in caches in the parks. For years a park super could check his park's cache map and at most see 2-3 dozen caches. Now, in a relatively short period of time, some park supers are seeing a hundred or more. Edited February 4, 2014 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+TheWeatherWarrior Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) I doubt the explosion of caches itself has little to do with it. Lets look at logic. Geocachers place say 100 caches. They bring many new (paying) people to the parks. Even at its worst, they have 100 additional small pieces of trash. Contrast this to the much larger explosion of mountain biking, hiking, etc. Add that to the fact that on various trails through parks, in the creeks, etc. there are probably 1000 more plastic water/soda/energy drink bottles, zip locks, energy bar wrappers, etc. Now put that in the context of the NNJG's statement of actually saying they want to work with the parks to remove existing caches and replace them with their own for the benefit of the park itself. But again, we'll see how it plays out in the end. My hopes is that the policy pretty much remains as a mostly uninterrupted process and encourages ANY cacher to place caches and does not serve to put lots of hurdles and delay the process of placing and publishing a cache. Already read about some jurisdictions that have essentially made a policy to block (through long list of conditions and requirements to non-responsive government employees). Unfortunately, it is another case of where a few geocachers trying to seek personal benefit have conspired with a select few and essentially ruined a part of the game for others. This happened a bit in Maryland, although I see some of those offenders are not in leadership positions anymore. My hope there is that some of the problems in that state will be undone through new, more open leaders. Edited February 5, 2014 by TheWeatherWarrior Quote Link to comment
+lpyankeefan Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Unfortunately, it is another case of where a few geocachers trying to seek personal benefit have conspired with a select few and essentially ruined a part of the game for others. This happened a bit in Maryland, although I see some of those offenders are not in leadership positions anymore. I'm going to have to take offense to the comment above, with absolutely no basis in fact whatsoever. It's general statements vaguely worded that tend to start problems. Please consider editing your post for a second time to delete a comment which has no bearing on this topic. Thank you. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Unfortunately, it is another case of where a few geocachers trying to seek personal benefit have conspired with a select few and essentially ruined a part of the game for others. This happened a bit in Maryland, although I see some of those offenders are not in leadership positions anymore. I'm going to have to take offense to the comment above, with absolutely no basis in fact whatsoever. It's general statements vaguely worded that tend to start problems. Please consider editing your post for a second time to delete a comment which has no bearing on this topic. Thank you. While other cachers have downplayed it as the reason, there is evidence that this has happened. Several times. So, your vituperative response is insulting and counterproductive. It is a valid concern. Quote Link to comment
+lpyankeefan Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Unfortunately, it is another case of where a few geocachers trying to seek personal benefit have conspired with a select few and essentially ruined a part of the game for others. This happened a bit in Maryland, although I see some of those offenders are not in leadership positions anymore. I'm going to have to take offense to the comment above, with absolutely no basis in fact whatsoever. It's general statements vaguely worded that tend to start problems. Please consider editing your post for a second time to delete a comment which has no bearing on this topic. Thank you. While other cachers have downplayed it as the reason, there is evidence that this has happened. Several times. So, your vituperative response is insulting and counterproductive. It is a valid concern. Sorry Harry...my response was neither bitter or abusive...if you think so then by all means please ask a mod to read the post in question. If they think I was either then I shall redact my comment and post an apology. I was indeed a past officer in the MGS but went out of my way to make TWW feel welcome whenever I saw him at events. If anything I tried where others had given up on him due to constant vague accusations about folks 'making all kinds of money' off of geotrails in the Mid-Atlantic area. I myself helped set up a few of them and I can tell you from personal experience that if anything they can wind up costing dedicated geocachers money out of their pockets. The last trail that I helped with cost me personally almost $200 in materials, cache containers and swag. Why did I do it? Certainly not for the monetary remuneration that TWW alluded to folks in our group receiving or the glory that another geotrail highlighting some of the best sites that my home county has to offer. Nope, I did it because I enjoy this hobby and I wanted folks to visit places that I'm proud to call 'home'. The only 'pay' that I received was a 'hiders' coin. That's right...a $5.00 hunk of metal for a $200.00 outlay. Maybe I should invest in the stock market with those types of returns. The concern that I've seen as a member of the FB account mentioned earlier has to do more with previous hides being forcibly archived so that new caches could be placed involving power trails, geotrails...etc. with little or no regard for the history, maintenance or feelings of said cache owners. In the four or five trails I've worked on we've only had a few instances of older caches being archived for newer caches for the trails. A kindly worded request has worked for us most of the time. If you can have the 'old' CO be the hider of the 'new' cache being placed, give them credit for doing so and then 'adopt' the cache to them after the trail has ended even better. If an amicable agreement can't be reached regarding a 'traditional' hide then perhaps a 'multi' or some other form of offset cache might as well. Quote Link to comment
+OReviewer Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 FWIW, the knowledgebase on GC.com's site doesn't indicate that there is a policy, moratorium or ban in NJ state parks. Apologies for the delay; I updated that page last week. I was hoping to get more detailed information from the State before I added it but I haven't had responses to my inquiries. 1 Quote Link to comment
+TheWeatherWarrior Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) I'm going to have to take offense to the comment above, with absolutely no basis in fact whatsoever. It's general statements vaguely worded that tend to start problems. Please consider editing your post for a second time to delete a comment which has no bearing on this topic. Thank you. Will not edit the post, because it actually wasn't pointed toward you but others from the past. Considering the outrageous actions of some of those officers not only as part of the MGS but also toward other members, I will not and never will back down from the fact that MGS had (past tense) a serious issue. You were one of the better ones. But MGS highly censored me and there is lots of facts to support it. In fact, was going to post them in the MGS forum but when I start, was locked out of the forum. I bring up the Maryland issue only because at times I see similar (though not exactly) the same actions and attitudes that show that organization with direct connections to the parks may be acting in a selfish manner for the betterment of their own goals (the leadership's) and hence why the park system in NJ may be going through all of this. Unlike Maryland, I do not know the history of the leadership, members, etc. Only suspicions based on things published (aka factual statements) and various actions that have been documented. However, as I said (here or another thread I forget), it is a wait and see thing. NJ parks may actually come out with a policy that favors the community as a whole, not be so selective or prohibitive. Hell, even to some extent, there were folks in Maryland that did a great job keep the parks open. My point has always been a tiny select few have spoiled it for the 99.9% of others. BTW if you want to PM about specifics, I don't mind sharing with you there, they are not appropriate for this thread or the GC forum in general. Edited February 14, 2014 by TheWeatherWarrior Quote Link to comment
+lpyankeefan Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Thanks for the clarification. E-mail sent. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Any updates on the negotiations? I heard they will be disallowing micros, but what about multis? Will night caches still be allowed? Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Any updates on the negotiations? I heard they will be disallowing micros, but what about multis? Will night caches still be allowed? Night caches were never allowed since state parks are closed at night. I bought fire tacks in 2004 and could never find a place for a night cache that was legal because in addition to state parks, WMAs and most county parks are also closed at night. Most other parks that don't close at night are places where walking around with a flashlight is sure to attract the police. Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Any updates on the negotiations? I heard they will be disallowing micros, but what about multis? Will night caches still be allowed? Night caches were never allowed since state parks are closed at night. I bought fire tacks in 2004 and could never find a place for a night cache that was legal because in addition to state parks, WMAs and most county parks are also closed at night. Most other parks that don't close at night are places where walking around with a flashlight is sure to attract the police. NJ WMAs are closed from 9pm to 5 am. There are multiple night caches in South Jersey WMAs and they are reasonably accessible for nine moths of the year. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 Any updates on the negotiations? I heard they will be disallowing micros, but what about multis? Will night caches still be allowed? Night caches were never allowed since state parks are closed at night. I bought fire tacks in 2004 and could never find a place for a night cache that was legal because in addition to state parks, WMAs and most county parks are also closed at night. Most other parks that don't close at night are places where walking around with a flashlight is sure to attract the police. NJ WMAs are closed from 9pm to 5 am. There are multiple night caches in South Jersey WMAs and they are reasonably accessible for nine moths of the year. There are several nightcaches in Wharton and Lebanon. I was told that Wharton was open 24 hours since there are plenty of campers there. Just before the ban I hid 3 night caches in Lebanon which used solar lighting and a few Halloween decorations, but I suppose they never will get published now. Quote Link to comment
+TheWeatherWarrior Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Night caches were never allowed since state parks are closed at night. I bought fire tacks in 2004 and could never find a place for a night cache that was legal because in addition to state parks, WMAs and most county parks are also closed at night. Most other parks that don't close at night are places where walking around with a flashlight is sure to attract the police. I cannot point to specific parks in NJ because I'm not there, but other states do have open parks that are not time restricted, or loosely enforced (they only make it an issue if you are breaking another law). If you were speaking of states outside New Jersey than I can say with confidence, that is NOT accurate. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 It appears there will be several thousand archivals in a few months. The new rules say that all hides must be five feet from an official trail, and not be on, or near any waterways, or hidden in trees. Existing caches must have permits to comply, although there is no fee. Well, at least we have local and county parks for now. And parking lots! Quote Link to comment
+Walkin' Ed Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Also no premium member only caches. The draft policy is still open for comments, so put in your thoughts and maybe it will be revised. Quote Link to comment
+Team Bayberry Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Any updates on the negotiations? I heard they will be disallowing micros, but what about multis? Will night caches still be allowed? Night caches were never allowed since state parks are closed at night. I bought fire tacks in 2004 and could never find a place for a night cache that was legal because in addition to state parks, WMAs and most county parks are also closed at night. Most other parks that don't close at night are places where walking around with a flashlight is sure to attract the police. NJ WMAs are closed from 9pm to 5 am. There are multiple night caches in South Jersey WMAs and they are reasonably accessible for nine moths of the year. There are several nightcaches in Wharton and Lebanon. I was told that Wharton was open 24 hours since there are plenty of campers there. Just before the ban I hid 3 night caches in Lebanon which used solar lighting and a few Halloween decorations, but I suppose they never will get published now. There's a difference between state parks and state forests. Parks are enclosed. Forests are not. No one could say that Wharton, or Lebanon, are "closed at night". That would require gates to block off all the county and local roads that run through. (Kind of like what was done at Fort Dix after 9/11.) Those public roads can't be blocked off, because all of us who use those roads to get places (including private property within the forest) would raise a the roof at the next freeholders' meetings. Right now, the superintendents of Wharton and Lebanon have asked SJGeocachers to please let them know when we hold a group hunt, so that they can let the Park Police know that we're a caravan for good, not evil. Quote Link to comment
+Team Bayberry Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Also no premium member only caches. The draft policy is still open for comments, so put in your thoughts and maybe it will be revised. Please do not make your comments directly to the State. Contact the people who are negotiating with the State. You can visit SJGeocaching.org, and make suggestions in the forums. Not sure what Central Jersey has going on as far as suggestions. (I had a witty and snide comment about the dubious value of making suggestions via another NJ caching club's site, but I think I'll just leave it up to the readers' imagination.) Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Also no premium member only caches. The draft policy is still open for comments, so put in your thoughts and maybe it will be revised. Please do not make your comments directly to the State. Contact the people who are negotiating with the State. You can visit SJGeocaching.org, and make suggestions in the forums. Not sure what Central Jersey has going on as far as suggestions. (I had a witty and snide comment about the dubious value of making suggestions via another NJ caching club's site, but I think I'll just leave it up to the readers' imagination.) I don't see anything going on in the forums there regarding this. Quote Link to comment
+Traditional Bill Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Also no premium member only caches. The draft policy is still open for comments, so put in your thoughts and maybe it will be revised. Please do not make your comments directly to the State. Contact the people who are negotiating with the State. You can visit SJGeocaching.org, and make suggestions in the forums. Not sure what Central Jersey has going on as far as suggestions. (I had a witty and snide comment about the dubious value of making suggestions via another NJ caching club's site, but I think I'll just leave it up to the readers' imagination.) I don't see anything going on in the forums there regarding this. Brian,the thread is in the "NJ caching partnership" forum. If you're a full member you can browse that forum. I'll email you a link to the thread and a link to account validation if you're not already a full member so you can view and comment accordingly. Quote Link to comment
+weathernowcast Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Also no premium member only caches. The draft policy is still open for comments, so put in your thoughts and maybe it will be revised. Please do not make your comments directly to the State. Contact the people who are negotiating with the State. You can visit SJGeocaching.org, and make suggestions in the forums. Not sure what Central Jersey has going on as far as suggestions. (I had a witty and snide comment about the dubious value of making suggestions via another NJ caching club's site, but I think I'll just leave it up to the readers' imagination.) I don't see anything going on in the forums there regarding this. Brian,the thread is in the "NJ caching partnership" forum. If you're a full member you can browse that forum. I'll email you a link to the thread and a link to account validation if you're not already a full member so you can view and comment accordingly. I am in the sjgeocaching.org forum but I can not find the "NJ caching partnership" forum. Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Wonder if the state realizes how many tourist dollars they will lose as Pennsylvanians move their "Caching Weekends" elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment
+TheWeatherWarrior Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) Wonder if the state realizes how many tourist dollars they will lose as Pennsylvanians move their "Caching Weekends" elsewhere. THIS. Though frankly they don't care. Go to any park on a weekend and how many there are geocaching. I'd put the number at like 1 out of a 100. Way less in large parks where it is closer to 1 out of 10,000. Of course that is the point. Why they are all worked up about geocachers when they make up very little of their overall attendance and do very little actual damage to a park shows they lack perspective and intelligence. But we are talking about park employees. While I've meet many friendly well natured rangers and park employees can't say I've met any of true perspective or intelligence (and I don't mean they're stupid, just not highly intelligent). Edited June 9, 2014 by TheWeatherWarrior Quote Link to comment
+Frodo_Underhill Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 BUMP This topic looks like it has scrolled off the page. Has anyone heard anything new lately? Last I have seen on this topic was a posting earlier this month by nickap on the CJG board to the effect that the policy is still pending and that parks management is watching and evaluating the impact of key caches. The crickets are quite noticeable due to the lack of information on this topic. Quote Link to comment
+Traditional Bill Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 BUMP This topic looks like it has scrolled off the page. Has anyone heard anything new lately? Last I have seen on this topic was a posting earlier this month by nickap on the CJG board to the effect that the policy is still pending and that parks management is watching and evaluating the impact of key caches. The crickets are quite noticeable due to the lack of information on this topic. Bump again. Another month with no word. I'm also curious if there's been any further advancement. Especially in systems/processes on how all of the existing caches will be implemented as well. If they're not grandfathered, is the state prepared to deal with the influx of permit requests that will follow? Only time will tell, I suppose. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 I would think that they would follow the example set by permit systems in other state parks rather than make it so strict. I am not aware of any which have caused any problems, or any type of impact. If there was a problem, I'm sure an archival would be no problem. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) A cache was removed due to "tripping hazards" and being off trail, due to a note from someone using a county name in a state park. There are tripping hazards everywhere.. This one is at a former dump site, but other than an odd loose chunk of concrete, it's not much different than walking over rocks. Email from Burlington Co Parks... Good morning Team Freeman, My search and safety checks for geocaches within the parks system has been pretty successful. I found Amico Micro yesterday and have a few concerns about it. We would like the ground zero to be visible from the trail and I'm afraid that this cache is just too far off trail. Depending on which way you go (we went in from the blue trail and exited the other side near the red), there are just too many tripping hazards. We have removed it because the safety concerns are too high with this one. I will keep the geocache in the parks office for you to pick up. You may certainly put it back at Amico Island, but I must ask that you keep it closer to the trail. Thank you so much for understanding; I greatly appreciate your cooperation. It is not my intention to discourage geocaching in our parks. In fact, I hope that more people will place more caches in our parks! It's a wonderful opportunity to get people to get outside and explore! Again, if you need to reach me, you can email me at kszostak@co.burlington.nj.us. http://coord.info/GCM596 Edited December 5, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Quote Link to comment
+Traditional Bill Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Representatives of the Burlington county parks system have been going around and finding all of the geocaches in their parks and requesting the CO's archive or move them to coincide how they want the caches hidden. I can imagine that this will eventually end with the parks system just hiding their own caches. Nothing we can do about that. The moratorium is still active and the policy has NOT YET been finalized regardless of what is being archived or what is being said. There are final drafts of the policy going around certain forums, but like I said....These are drafts. Anything you see get archived as of now is either due to Burlington county parks system complaints, or pre-emptive strike from cachers who are not satisfied with the draft so far. Not that I blame them, either, but I'll be leaving my caches active until the policy is finalized and my permits are denied. Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Representatives of the Burlington county parks system have been going around and finding all of the geocaches in their parks and requesting the CO's archive or move them to coincide how they want the caches hidden. I can imagine that this will eventually end with the parks system just hiding their own caches. Nothing we can do about that. The moratorium is still active and the policy has NOT YET been finalized regardless of what is being archived or what is being said. There are final drafts of the policy going around certain forums, but like I said....These are drafts. Anything you see get archived as of now is either due to Burlington county parks system complaints, or pre-emptive strike from cachers who are not satisfied with the draft so far. Not that I blame them, either, but I'll be leaving my caches active until the policy is finalized and my permits are denied. T.B., I cannot find a BurlCo policy published anywhere (see my SJG thread) Have you found one? Quote Link to comment
+Traditional Bill Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 (edited) Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Representatives of the Burlington county parks system have been going around and finding all of the geocaches in their parks and requesting the CO's archive or move them to coincide how they want the caches hidden. I can imagine that this will eventually end with the parks system just hiding their own caches. Nothing we can do about that. The moratorium is still active and the policy has NOT YET been finalized regardless of what is being archived or what is being said. There are final drafts of the policy going around certain forums, but like I said....These are drafts. Anything you see get archived as of now is either due to Burlington county parks system complaints, or pre-emptive strike from cachers who are not satisfied with the draft so far. Not that I blame them, either, but I'll be leaving my caches active until the policy is finalized and my permits are denied. T.B., I cannot find a BurlCo policy published anywhere (see my SJG thread) Have you found one? Nope....they sure are acting like they have one in place though. I'm aware that they removed some caches already and contacted at least two CO's that I know of. One ten year old cache was removed because it involves a tripping hazard? Either way, it looks like Burlington county is getting more proactive about inciting a policy more so than the state. According to information from the SJG forums, we have some representatives currently working with the Burlington county parks system on creating a policy. Let's hope it's not like the "drafts" of the not yet finalized stage policy. *edit for spelling Edited December 8, 2014 by Traditional Bill Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Sorry it took me a bit to find one: GC3EMAR Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) Greetings! The NJ State Parks and Forestry Geocaching Policy has been posted to the Welcome to New Jersey's State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites home page. Permits are ready to be accepted at Park offices and hides will start being evaluated in January. No new caches will be permitted for 120 days, during which time, all existing caches will need to be permitted. The North New Jersey Cachers, South Jersey Geocaching, and Central Jersey Geocaching groups, along with our local reviewers have all worked hard to get a policy that we can live with. If you'd like to discuss the policy and how it affects your caches, or you caching experience in New Jersey State Parks, please bring the discussion to one of the local groups or in this forum. There is no point in call, emailing or posting to the State Parks facebook page about you concerns. The three groups are in discussion with their local park superintendents. They have a lot of permits to get through, let not aggravate state parks with more issues and get back to Geocaching in State Parks quickly. Edited December 14, 2014 by nikcap Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 To those that have caches in the affected areas please remember that you have 120 days, beginning January 1, to decide what to do with your caches. You can modify them where necessary (and possible) to meet the new requirements and then get a permit or you can recover them and archive them. I would urge those of you that decide to or have to (can't be adequately modified) archive caches to wait at least until March 2015 to give interested cachers time to find and log them before they are gone. If you can wait until the deadline that would be even better. I do not plan to archive the cache I probably can't modify until the last possible moment. Others of our membership have expressed similar sentiments. Thank you, Michaelcycle Member South Jersey Geocaching Quote Link to comment
+Michaelcycle Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Doing my weekly GPX file today. Noticed a number of caches in South Jersey being archived for "not meeting state requirements". Is this an early clean out? (Like my archiving caches in state parks because the state may ban smoking in state parks.) Or, is there a state policy that we need to know about? Got a listing number or two, Harry D.? The disabled listing _fool posted (I found another nearby at Pennington Farm) may be something different and could be an early clean out. Sorry it took me a bit to find one: GC3EMAR As you can see by the above, that was a quick reaction to the impending policy. At least a couple of the caches sofiecat archived were in need of maintenance anyway and he decided to let them go. He has expressed his willingness to keep other caches going for some time into the grace period to let some of us have a crack at finding them before they have to be archived. Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 To those that have caches in the affected areas please remember that you have 120 days, beginning January 1, to decide what to do with your caches. You can modify them where necessary (and possible) to meet the new requirements and then get a permit or you can recover them and archive them. I would urge those of you that decide to or have to (can't be adequately modified) archive caches to wait at least until March 2015 to give interested cachers time to find and log them before they are gone. If you can wait until the deadline that would be even better. I do not plan to archive the cache I probably can't modify until the last possible moment. Others of our membership have expressed similar sentiments. Thank you, Michaelcycle Member South Jersey Geocaching This is a great point! Speak strictly on my own opinion, I believe that many park superintendents will give a lot of leeway on some of the stipulations. Many of the park supers I've meet have either geocached, or know about the game well enough. Others supers and park naturalist are a tougher sell, and will probably stick hard to the policy. I would like to encourage everyone with cacher to take the park supers on a hike with them. From this point forward, we need to be partners with the State Parks. Take pride in you hide! Quote Link to comment
+Viajero Perdido Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Tripping hazards, oh my goodness! As a geo-tourist, I seek out places where I might trip, or even fall to my death if I'm not careful. That's where the fun is. Guess I won't be visiting New Jersey anytime soon. To those of you in NJ who are trying to keep the game interesting, you have my sympathy... Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I had tried working with the park supervisor at Wawayanda, to no avail. And that was for an EarthCache. She was not willing to work with me. I guess he didn't want to stick her neck out. Oh, well. Three years max? Terrace Pond North has been there for nine years, without any problems. Within ten feet of a trail? That certainly eliminates my five remaining caches. How about a 4.5 terrain for a quarter mile bushwhack to one of Passaic County's five possible high points? Of course the Hi-Pointers will still go there. Or the benchmark at Bearfort? That is probably the highest point. At least the NGS thinks so. Benchmark hunters will still go for it! Within ten feet of a trail? That will eliminate most of the good caches! Oh, well. I've been working on archiving my state park caches. Guess I'll let the state park service do it for me. I'll be very sorry to see some of the old caches go: gerbiL cacHe, Washington's Crossing 1, da\/|ds0n c^chE , Rat Team 6's caches. What a sad happening! Quote Link to comment
+JL_HSTRE Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 CaN someone summarize the biggest changes/restrictions in the new policy? Also, what brought this new policy about? I don't live near NJ but this seems relevant to everyone as an example of what other state parks might consider adopting in the future. Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) ...Three years max? Terrace Pond North has been there for nine years, without any problems.Within ten feet of a trail? That certainly eliminates my five remaining caches. How about a 4.5 terrain for a quarter mile bushwhack to one of Passaic County's five possible high points? Of course the Hi-Pointers will still go there. Or the benchmark at Bearfort? That is probably the highest point. At least the NGS thinks so. Benchmark hunters will still go for it!Within ten feet of a trail? That will eliminate most of the good caches! Oh, well. I've been working on archiving my state park caches. Guess I'll let the state park service do it for me. I'll be very sorry to see some of the old caches go: gerbiL cacHe, Washington's Crossing 1, da\/|ds0n c^chE , Rat Team 6's caches. What a sad happening! +1 Others will still head were they've always gone. Pretty-much eliminates non-numbers caching. Six feet up a tree and no cliffs? Many rope-use caches may go too... Edited December 15, 2014 by cerberus1 Quote Link to comment
+Traditional Bill Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 ...Three years max? Terrace Pond North has been there for nine years, without any problems.Within ten feet of a trail? That certainly eliminates my five remaining caches. How about a 4.5 terrain for a quarter mile bushwhack to one of Passaic County's five possible high points? Of course the Hi-Pointers will still go there. Or the benchmark at Bearfort? That is probably the highest point. At least the NGS thinks so. Benchmark hunters will still go for it!Within ten feet of a trail? That will eliminate most of the good caches! Oh, well. I've been working on archiving my state park caches. Guess I'll let the state park service do it for me. I'll be very sorry to see some of the old caches go: gerbiL cacHe, Washington's Crossing 1, da\/|ds0n c^chE , Rat Team 6's caches. What a sad happening! +1 Others will still head were they've always gone. Pretty-much eliminates non-numbers caching. Six feet up a tree and no cliffs? Many rope-use caches may go too... The elimination of climbing has been my main concern. According to the members of our caching club who are working with superintendents, we may be able to work something out in certain hunting areas where hunters are allowed to climb. This is just speculation, however, so there's no telling. I have my fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment
+BBWolf+3Pigs Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 "Vegetation, stones, logs, etc shall not be disturbed when selecting a location." So no unnatural piles of sticks for camo? "Cache containers must be non-breakable." So no lock & locks? Ammo cans only? Quote Link to comment
+Packanack Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 the major factor is that the Groundspeak liberal proximity guideline of a tenth of a mile is probably gone, the feeling in some area is that there will most likely be one cache per trail mile. There is also an under current that the three local organization failure to self govern the local scene created some of the issues leading up to the policy adoption. we have an enormous number of caches that are abandoned and not maintained, thus the state policy requirement of two annual maintenance visits per annum and a limit of three year cache life. Quote Link to comment
+BBWolf+3Pigs Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 the major factor is that the Groundspeak liberal proximity guideline of a tenth of a mile is probably gone, the feeling in some area is that there will most likely be one cache per trail mile. Is that a bad thing? (IMO, no it isn't a bad thing) There is also an under current that the three local organization failure to self govern the local scene created some of the issues leading up to the policy adoption. we have an enormous number of caches that are abandoned and not maintained, thus the state policy requirement of two annual maintenance visits per annum and a limit of three year cache life. What do the three caching groups and "self governance" have to do with anything? We have no "formal" group in RI and have no issues with the local DEM. Quote Link to comment
+coachstahly Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Visible from the trail and non-breakable? Say hello to LOTS of CO maintenance (and money) as the caches get taken. If that's not the case, then you'll be seeing lots of bison tubes in the woods. Quote Link to comment
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