NatureFish
03-27-2006, 01:32 AM
It occured to me when answering a post in a related thread that even I don't have ALL of the info on land use in Arkansas, making it difficult for both you the cacher and I the Reviewer to know and abide by the rules.
In this thread I will post the Permissions, Restrictions and Land Use Agreements that I know of and ask you to augment them with any areas I miss or any permissions, permit procedures or restrictions that I may be unaware of.
Once we work out a comprehensive list I will publish it to these forums, to geocaching.com and as a seperate web page for everyone to reference.
I cache in many states and can tell you that we have been lucky so far - many states are bound by many and minute rules and regulations, prohibitions and restrictions that we do not have in Arkansas.
These mainly came about due to a laissez-faire attitude towards getting permission and poor adherence to landowners wishes in the early days of geocaching.
We do not have much of that here, and do not want to, so an educated geocaching public and a policy of self-policing and adherence to the known rules benefits us all.
Here's what I know at the moment:
Arkansas State Parks - Get permit info and forms at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/things/geocache/
BLM -- geocaching is allowed on many Bureau of Land Management lands, but you need to ask permission first.
National Parks Service -- geocaching is not allowed in National Parks (but feel free to ask your park manager nicely, just in case... Park Managers do have discretion, but permission must be written).
NPS policy statement here, http://home.earthlink.net/~rsgeek/NPS010321_report.html
National Forest Service -- geocaching is generally allowed in the non-wilderness portions of National Forests, but always ask the given forest's manager first. The U.S. Forest Service has this FAQ response on-line in reference to geocaching:
Quote:
While geocaching is NOT an appropriate use of a designated Wilderness Area, it is increasing in popularity in general forest areas. You must remember to follow all existing regulations when placing or looking for caches. This includes understanding and following all motor vehicle restrictions, avoiding damage to trees or roots, avoiding impacts to streams, wetlands and lakeshores, and minimizing your impacts on other forest visitors. Recreational public use of National Forests is intended to be short-term and low-impact, so that the many other forest visitors have an opportunity to enjoy the same lands also. Permanent or long-term structures or improvements are not allowed. If you are unsure about whether geocaching is appropriate in a certain area, please contact the local Forest office and ask.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service -- geocaching in any form is not allowed in Fish & Wildlife Service lands (i.e., National Wildlife Refuges)
Please, under no circumstances place a cache on forbidden land and hope it will slip by un-noticed!
It might, for a while, but in the end it will only serve to give geocaching a black eye and endanger our existing agreements and ongoing negotiations with land managers.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Ed
In this thread I will post the Permissions, Restrictions and Land Use Agreements that I know of and ask you to augment them with any areas I miss or any permissions, permit procedures or restrictions that I may be unaware of.
Once we work out a comprehensive list I will publish it to these forums, to geocaching.com and as a seperate web page for everyone to reference.
I cache in many states and can tell you that we have been lucky so far - many states are bound by many and minute rules and regulations, prohibitions and restrictions that we do not have in Arkansas.
These mainly came about due to a laissez-faire attitude towards getting permission and poor adherence to landowners wishes in the early days of geocaching.
We do not have much of that here, and do not want to, so an educated geocaching public and a policy of self-policing and adherence to the known rules benefits us all.
Here's what I know at the moment:
Arkansas State Parks - Get permit info and forms at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/things/geocache/
BLM -- geocaching is allowed on many Bureau of Land Management lands, but you need to ask permission first.
National Parks Service -- geocaching is not allowed in National Parks (but feel free to ask your park manager nicely, just in case... Park Managers do have discretion, but permission must be written).
NPS policy statement here, http://home.earthlink.net/~rsgeek/NPS010321_report.html
National Forest Service -- geocaching is generally allowed in the non-wilderness portions of National Forests, but always ask the given forest's manager first. The U.S. Forest Service has this FAQ response on-line in reference to geocaching:
Quote:
While geocaching is NOT an appropriate use of a designated Wilderness Area, it is increasing in popularity in general forest areas. You must remember to follow all existing regulations when placing or looking for caches. This includes understanding and following all motor vehicle restrictions, avoiding damage to trees or roots, avoiding impacts to streams, wetlands and lakeshores, and minimizing your impacts on other forest visitors. Recreational public use of National Forests is intended to be short-term and low-impact, so that the many other forest visitors have an opportunity to enjoy the same lands also. Permanent or long-term structures or improvements are not allowed. If you are unsure about whether geocaching is appropriate in a certain area, please contact the local Forest office and ask.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service -- geocaching in any form is not allowed in Fish & Wildlife Service lands (i.e., National Wildlife Refuges)
Please, under no circumstances place a cache on forbidden land and hope it will slip by un-noticed!
It might, for a while, but in the end it will only serve to give geocaching a black eye and endanger our existing agreements and ongoing negotiations with land managers.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Ed