+Seth! Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 I don't spend too much time in the forums, so forgive me if this has already been addressed. (Feel free to Markwell a response.) I was eyeballing the pinned thread above about national wildlife refuges. So what IS the story with National Forests? I just had a geocache yanked by "them". I thought that NFS land was the one Federal place where we could put geocaches. Did the NFS send us a nasty letter, too? Quote
+briansnat Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 As far as I know NF's are still OK. Some wilderness areas in NF's are off limits though. Local managers may also have their own policy. Quote
+briansnat Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 I noticed that there are still quite a few caches active in that NF. Unless they are pickin them up one at a time. Quote
2oldfarts (the rockhounders) Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 Dang. Which NF was it? I think THIS might be the one to look at. If I remember correctly, there are several NF in different states to start this policy...seems to be who is in charge of a particular area has the power to make the rules. We hope it does not keep spreading to all other NF! Shirley Quote
+Seth! Posted March 29, 2004 Author Posted March 29, 2004 It's San Juan NF in CO. There are other geocaches there, so I don't know what's up. Mine was in a great spot and Mother Nature would not be put out--no animals or plants were harmed in the placing of the geocache. It was on a rock outcrop! Quote
+southdeltan Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 I think the best thing to do would be to contact the Park Rangers and find out why they have removed that cache (and possibly others). The USFS has historically been supportive (or at the very least they've ignored) geocaching in NF's. I have several in the Delta National Forest here in MS that have Ranger approval. From the sounds of it - they may be working out some permit system for their NF. The note on the cache page did mention something about permits. Contact CO_Admin and get the Rangers contact info - then contact them. southdeltan Quote
+Bull Moose Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 "Protecting" lands of today, so the children of tomorrow can't use them either. When I asked a ranger before hiding a cache in the Okanogan National Forest he had no problem with it. Probably just ran into a ranger or administrator that likes to wield their petty powers in petty ways. Quote
+Renegade Knight Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 The local NF seems to be Ok with geocaching. However their land use policies are under reivew and open for public comment right now. Since we have a local group against any type of motorized travel on public lands (Close unless open Policy) I'll be in touch with them and will probably encourage the adopting of geocaching as an ideal use of their lands. (Logging is a bit more hard on the environment and they do allow that). Quote
+timberlane74 & pumpkin Posted March 30, 2004 Posted March 30, 2004 http://recreation.gov/faqgeocaching.cfm As this says, for NF, contact the rangers.... Quote
dsandbro Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 The Forest Service identifies geocaching as a developing form of recreation. Here is a speech given by the Chief of the Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2004/speeches/01...ecreation.shtml Quote
+briansnat Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 he Forest Service identifies geocaching as a developing form of recreation. Here is a speech given by the Chief of the Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2004/speeches/01...ecreation.shtml Good find! Those of us who are looking for positive references to our sport should bookmark this! Quote
inventorjg Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 Just hide it good enough and they can't "yank" it. Quote
+The Frantic Cachers Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 Reading the article he was stateing that the funding for managing recreation after 9/11 has significantly dropped. So maybe the uprise in the whole permit system is to replace the lost funds. i know its not much money but anything would be a start......just a thought Quote
+southdeltan Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 I'm curious to know if Seth has contacted the Rangers at that NF to find out more about why his cache was removed. Any word yet Seth? southdeltan Quote
+Byron & Anne Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 I tried about a year ago to find a policy on geocaching. I sent e-mail to several offices in the NFS. I quoted a regulation that had been quoted as justification for saying that it was illegal. In those e-mails I asked for and got a copy of the regulation. However I never got a response to the NFS policy question. It appears to me that from the regulation quoted and the persons quoting there's a possiblity that there's an abuse of power happening. I neither have the time nor the desire to pursue that avenue. Just my thoughts and observations. Quote
+southdeltan Posted March 31, 2004 Posted March 31, 2004 It appears to me that from the regulation quoted and the persons quoting there's a possiblity that there's an abuse of power happening. I neither have the time nor the desire to pursue that avenue. B&A - make sure you read this: Federal Policies on Geocaching There is no rule for ALL National Forest - but some do have individual rules. You should contact your local National Forest for more information. I was curious as to wether or not Seth had done that. southdeltan Quote
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