At a regularly scheduled meeting of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Commission held earlier this evening, the Commissioners, by a voice
vote, denied a request to reconsider their policy prohibiting the
placement of Geocaches within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. They agreed
to post a statement of their policy on the Preserve Commission web page
(http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/boards/MSPreserve/default.asp). 
 
The Commissioners made it very clear that the first mandate of the
Preserve is preservation. The Commission is not going to allow any
activity which involves going off-trail.  They are also quite open about
the fact that they are going to avoid setting any precedent that risks
opening a wider door in the future. By that reasoning, they hold that
even a cache that is right next to the trail is still off-trail. They
are also opposed to having any contemporary non-natural objects within
the preserve, except for those placed for such reasons as safety,
directions, etc. Those are their major reasons behind their denial of
reconsideration, as best as I am able to summarize them.
 
I would urge any of you who have placed caches within the Preserve to
remove them soon.  My best guess is that there will be a not very long
grace period before confiscation efforts begin.
 
Steve
Team Tierra Buena