[GeoStL] Re: Status of the Missour Dept. of Conservation geocaching policy
- From: "Gale R. Nie" <showme69@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:35:56 -0500
Did you officially submit a special use permit? If so, when it's rejected the
manager should have provided you with the reconsideration form.
I included info with my applications about the DNR's policy and stated that the
MDC should consider having a similar policy. Government gears turn slowly as
we all know. Maybe someday.
Gale
----- Original Message -----
From: Jack Konecker
To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2007 7:57 PM
Subject: [GeoStL] Re: Status of the Missour Dept. of Conservation geocaching
policy
> Have you sent in a Special Use Permit
> Reconsideration Form?
Didn't know there was such a thing!
I'm going to sit a bit on this one. I want
to give the MDC personnel involved a
chance to think some more about the fact
that we are a hobby that must be reconned
with. The SLAGA organization has grown to
a point that it cannot be ignored.
And it's not like geocaching is a mystery to
the MDC. Their own personnel teach
geocaching classes to the public.
I've been trying to get land managers
who are skeptical to understand that
with a geocache, they'd be able to tell who
and when and how many people visit an area
by the cache logs. With the ordinary hiker
they have no way to gather those statistics.
In general, if the area allows hikers,
geocaching should also be permitted.
They can still control placement and
access through the form system.
I sought out Rick Johnson this summer to discuss geocaching
on the land that he manages. I even went looking for
him on the Dogwood trail at Forest 44 where he was
working on grooming the trail. We sat in the woods
for 30 minutes while I explained geocaching to him.
He was not familiar with it.
Rick's general concern is he doesn't want extra work
to do or the chance that he'll have to deal with conflict
as the result of an area's multi-use. But again, if they
allow hikers on the land, then should allow geocachers.
We're not much different than hikers.
A recent post to the email thread that I am documenting
is from Teresa Kight of the MDC on 8/24/07. She sent
it to me and a few others who have an interest in the
issue of geocaching on conservation area land. She
stated:
"Links to MO State Park geocaching policy and permit
attached - we should probably model our policy similarly."
I infer from that statement that the MDC is not very far
into developing their own policy. But I agree that the Missouri
State Park geocaching policy is a reasonable one.
Other related posts:
