> I hope this doesn't set a precedent of refusals by various land agencies.

I honestly don’t think that’s likely. There are two factors at work in the Preserve: One is, quite frankly, that a couple of the more influential (and more vocal) Commissioners have developed a bias against Geocaching. I wasn’t optimistic about our chances of overcoming those prejudices going in to the meeting. I won’t elaborate here, but anyone who wants to ask me about it can do so at the next event cache we can attend (we’re hoping to make “Agent Rendezvous” for the day on Saturday, but we can’t promise).

The other and more significant reason in my opinion is the fact that the Commission sees the Preserve more akin to a Designated Wilderness Area than a Municipal Park, and the city ordinances that created the Preserve and the Commission back that up. Considered in that light, banning Geocaching makes a lot more sense in the Preserve than in many other public lands. I think Arizona land management agencies that are still on the fence about Geocaching are going to be paying much more attention to how things go within Maricopa County Parks than they will to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Steve
Team Tierra Buena