Rules for ecologically safe caching?

[+TeamJiffy]

Hi -

 

Nobody will likely believe this, but quite independent of seeing the article from the Orange County newspaper re: "New Game in Town: Habitat Damage" I've been thinking about rules for ecologically safe / non-annoying caching, and was going to post some thoughts on it today.

 

I know, I know, we haven't placed any caches, and have only found 17, so we sound like the unmarried marriage counselor, who happens to be only 4 years old, but what the hey, that's the Internet - everyone gets a voice, whether they deserve one or not!

 

Here are some thoughts...

 

For all parks, consider:

 

Should people be tromping around there, or is it a generally safe place for people to 'roam' - I am talking about environmental impact, not safety of hiker (that's difficulty level - "safety" for one may be "risky" for another)

 

When visiting your cache, look to see if people have protected the environment around it - if new trails are leading to your cache, etc., perhaps it's in a bad place and it's time to remove it.

 

For caches in urban settings, city parks, etc. consider:

 

Micro caches - such as those 35mm film cannisters attached to magnets, or even a virtual cache that really needs thought. Make it a 'puzzle'

 

Under brush that naturally lies around by some trees - in an area that is not ecologically fragile

 

For caches in county/regional parks (usually more rural than city parks, less isolated than state/national:

 

Keep on a trail, or just a couple feet away. Require people to have to wait until nobody is by a trail, vs. bush-wacking. Don't place the cache in a place which would encourage someone to go 'cross-country' to save time finding it, etc...

 

If the park is a PRESERVE, meant to protect some areas of fragile eco-systems, consider not placing a cache in it at all, or doing the micro-cache or virtual cache variety. The goal should be to get people to the park

 

Of course, talk to people running the park - explain where you would like to place the cache, and let them know they can always say 'no' - set a goal, make YOU the person they first discuss Geocaching with, vs. finding someone's poorly placed cache. Find out if there is a place that may be better - perhaps getting people to a nice part of the park they would otherwise miss... First impressions make a difference - make that park's first impression of Geocaching a positive one!

 

For state/national parks:

They are there for a reason. For us to enjoy, and leave to future generations to get an idea of unspoilt wilderness. We *have* an Internet site (this one!) to log our finds - and access to it is wide-spread. Perhaps, subtle 'markers' (wooden stakes - so if abandoned, eventually decompose) put in soil or rocks, with the Geocache Waypoint ID stamped on it and perhaps a 'secret number' to send the cache owner to verify a log, is enough to tell you 'you've found it' and this is far less likely to have people think of 'litter' vs. a plastic tupperware container or ammo box. The marker may also be a way to avoid people 'worrying about bombs' in caches.

 

I know most of you may really disagree with me - but this is what I believe. And to me, finding the cache and logging it online is the important thing - actually opening the box, finding some silly trinket, and putting one in is a bit of an overhead. I wouldn't mind simply finding the little wooden stake/marker and recording info on it, and sending it along.

 

Of course, people could 'cheat' and claim victories by sharing these - but we don't compete with cache find rates, of course! We keep track of our own progress..

 

I'm sure a few may like these ideas, and I am sure many would object, but as Geocaching grows in popularity, we seriously have to think about how we 'scale' the activity to large numbers of users in a way that society won't lash back on.

 

I'd PREFER to have the ecologists and naturalists praise Geocaching for getting people out in the wilderness, vs. having them 'annoyed at the litter'.

 

I love this activity. It has, seriously, brought me needed exercise and brought my wife and I closer together, in a wonderful shared activity. I worry about a day when people try to stop this activity in its tracks because of a mis-guided feeling that we don't care about the environment. We DO. We care about it more than just about anybody

 

-Joel

[+Desert_Warrior]

While I believe that every area has its difficulties, a lot of what you write can apply to every cacher.

 

For an example of what we have here, look at:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=24342

 

Look at the photos of the area... hard to hurt anything here. OTOH, some areas are quite fragile, and need protection.

 

Mike. KD9KC.

El Paso, Texas.

 

Seventeen minutes after her FIRST call for help, police officers arrived to find Ronyale White dead.

 

Prohibiting self defense is the ultimate crime. Police carry guns to protect themselves. What protects YOU ???

[+Trellan]

but let me take issue with the last replier. It is rather a cheap shot to use their REPLY to you as a way to advertise their own website and as a platform to advocate firearms.

While I am not against carrying firearms and likely agree with the responder, this was not the topic under discussion. I would invite the writer to create his own forum and to not cheapen one issue by muddying it up with another.

[+TeamJiffy]

You know, I realize that replying to your own topic is sort of like claiming a find on the same cache more than once, however...

 

...I just realized that Benchmarks meet all the qualities of those 'wooden markers' I talked about in my previous post... caches you can have a joy finding that are ALREADY part of the environment!

 

I guess Jeremy thinks ahead for all of us!

[+Team Gootz]

I'm with you on this one! A week behind you on Newbie-ship. I can certainly see where this all could be headed if we don't take affirmative action NOW!

 

Happy Caching!

 

MG

[+Desert_Warrior]

quote:

---

but let me take issue with the last replier. It is rather a cheap shot to use their REPLY to you as a way to advertise their own website

---

 

Website? What website? You mean one of my caches? Simply an example of an area where there is little impact. As I stated -IN THE EXAMPLE-, hard to hurt sand and rock. Did I suggest you go there for first-hand knowledge? Does that threaten you?

 

quote:

---

and as a platform to advocate firearms.

---

 

well... hmmmm... not just my sig line, but also the law. Don't like is... change the law. Fortunately, seems about 70% of the nation sides this way, especially after 9-11.

 

BTW, they are not assault weapons anymore, they are homeland defense weapons.

 

Mike. KD9KC.

El Paso, Texas.

 

Seventeen minutes after her FIRST call for help, police officers arrived to find Ronyale White dead.

 

Prohibiting self defense is the ultimate crime. Police carry guns to protect themselves. What protects YOU ???

[+alchemist2000]

Let me start out by saying that geocaching has taken me from being a devoted couch potato to somewhat of a "born again outdoorsperson". I am really enjoying rediscovering our many great parks and other outdoor areas. Prior to geocaching I was only barely aware that Texas had state parks. Now we have the yearly pass and have more than gotten our money's worth visiting quite a number of them to hike the trails and geocache. I truly believe that our geocaching experience (and I am sure that of many others) is exactly what land managers would want to promote...getting more and nore responsible people to enjoy and appreciate their parks.

 

I have to believe (here is where my optimism creeps in!!) that some of the problems that are emerging as our sport grows can and will be resolved if we work at it. I think the thoughtful post of the originator of this thread is a very good start.

 

However, I disagree with what seems to be one underlying assumption. They talk about hiding/finding stakes instead of ammo boxes. A very interesting idea, but it seems to imply that the thing being hidden is the problem. An ammo box sitting in a fallen log somewhere is not the problem, it is the possible damage that people do when trying to find it that I think is the issue.

 

In my observation, I think such damage (if any) tends to fall into two categories: (1) social trails to the cache and (2) disturbance or disruption of the cache area by geocachers looking for the cache. Let me address those individually.

 

Disruption of the cache area This is probably the easiest to fix. Just make the cache easier to find by geocachers (as opposed to the casual non-geocacher) once you get to the cache site. I have seen way too many micro-caches stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Since they are difficult to find, the whole area may become disturbed (trashed?)as people look under every little rock or stray piece of bark. I am not suggesting sticking things out in plain sight, but knowing that you are looking for something somewhat larger vs something tiny means looking in different types of places. Most geocachers soon learn to look in all kinds of places that are not frequented by the casual Joe Blow hiker: the hollow of a dead log, under an unnatural pile of rocks, etc. Yes, it is much more challenging to the cache hider to find a good location, but I think it can make a big difference in how the cache area looks after the first few seekers have searched for the cache.

 

Social trails to the cache This may be more difficult and will vary greatly from area to area. Some kinds of terrain (e.g. rocks or other hard surfaces) are going to hold up better than others to people entering the area. Some types of vegetation and some types of climate are going to lend themselves to regrowth better than others. Again, this is going to require some thought on the part of the cache hider. Perhaps the land managers can be helpful here. As others have pointed out, the cache may even have to be moved if the social trails are becoming too obvious (and that is considered a problem either by the cache owner or the land managers). I guess I am just suggesting that cache hiders give this some thought both when they hide the cache and when they continue to do maintenance.

 

Sorry for this very long post....I just love this sport and think it is a very valid way to use our public lands. Some of the concerns brought up by land managers are valid and can be readily addressed.

 

Alchemist2000