Hi Fred,
Thanks for the explanation and advise and welcome...
I am also a Ham (N7TMY) and my fiance in Reno (soon to
relocate, we hope!) is WB6ALS and works as a radio tech
for Sierra Pacific/Nevada Power (who are on the verge
of bankruptcy....)
If you are ever journeying up Prescott way, give a
heads up on email and maybe we can all meet.
take care,
Trisha "Lightning1996YCJP" (That is for Yavapai County
Jeep Posse/Search and Rescue)
Prescott
On Fri, 12 April 2002, "Fred Coe" wrote
>
> Hmmmm,
>
> I guess it is time for me to weigh in on some of
these issues. I usually
> just lurk, particularly on issues relating to the
management of public
> lands, since I work for one of the agencies that is
often much cussed and
> discussed. I certainly don't wish to be accused of
being 'undercover'....
>
> First, I pretty well figured out that Ranger51 worked
for the NPS since I
> first got into Geocaching last January. It is likely
a radio callsign. It
> would follow what was a pretty standard NPS format,
but then it has been
> over 20 years since I worked for the NPS. I don't
think that there was any
> intent to be "undercover", if so, why choose such an
obvious link to the
> NPS?
>
> Second, s/he may very well of been given marching
orders to remove caches
> located on NPS administered lands. It may not of
been the ranger's choice.
> Often times the field personnel are given direction
to do some pretty
> unpopular (even among the staff) things. This is
certainly true in my case.
> On my unit, I was the most vocal and outspoken critic
of the "Recreation
> Fee Demonstration" program implemented on USFS and
BLM land (as well as
> raising to astronomical levels <sorry Jim> the
entrance fee at the most
> popular National Parks). What happen? I was made
the "Rec Fee Coordinator"
> . The outcome? After a rather lengthy and loud
argument concerning "Rec
> Fee" with my supervisor I found myself facing
administrative charges for
> engaging in work place violence. I was suspended for
45 days, demoted, and
> moved into a non-public contact, technical support
position. The only thing
> that saved me from being "separated" (that's fired
for those of you who
> don't speak governmentese), were some "extenuating
circumstances" (and a
> good, if agressive lawyer). I'll probably never get
another promotion, but
> I've reached the point where I don't really care.
The point? Sometimes in
> government work you end up having to do things you
really don't want to do.
>
> Third, there has been much discussion about working
with the local units
> (District Rangers, Recreation Staff, Field Office
Managers, etc.). This
> would be an ideal situation. And I think it would
work well with the USFS,
> BLM, and probably the FWS (opps, US Fish and Wildlife
Service). My
> experience is that those agencies (well, maybe not
the FWS) are given more
> autonomy at the field level. However, since the
early '90's, Recreation
> staff officers have been severely reduced. They are,
in my opinion--and I
> have a pretty good idea of what they are expected to
do, since I used to be
> one--pretty overworked. Frequently that have to deal
with special uses,
> leases, the mineral program, communication sites,
trespass issues, boundary
> adjustments, blah, blah, blah, in addition to the
recreation program.
> Many of these programs have received congressional
direction--that is
> congress has told us to do it, so it almost always
gets done. That rarely
> leaves much time for administering the recreation
program. Since BLM and
> USFS administered lands are "managed under the
principals of multiple use
> and sustained yield" (and, yes, I wish someone would
explain what that means
> to me, too) geocaching would seem to be perfectly
acceptable activity. It
> is rare that the NPS deals with these issues--they
usually just say no (an
> over simplification, they have the law, not just
regulations on their side).
> The point? Yea, work with the local folks if you
can, but often you're
> going to find someone facing other deadlines, doesn't
want to increase their
> workload, and if they don't say, "No", right away
probably would be happy
> with a "Don't ask, don't tell" relationship. But
make sure you don't draw
> attention to your cache by putting it in a sensitive
area.
>
> Fourth, You can always go over the local folks head.
From the local
> recreation staff you can present your case to the
local line officer, and
> you can keep working your way up the chain. It is
frustrating and can take
> a while. You can also contact your local
congressional delegation, and the
> chairs of the appropriate House and Senate
Committees. This gets very
> risky. You may in up with something you don't like.
I can visualize a
> whole much of outcomes that result splintering the
geocaching community,
> thus giving it an even smaller voice than it has.
But, my experience is
> that the NPS is far more sensitive to congressional
inquiries than either
> the USFS or the BLM
>
> Fifth, I have reviewed a 1997 map of the area in
question, and I agree with
> Jim, I think this cache was at least 500 feet
outside the boundary of the
> park. Unless there was a recent boundary adjustment
it looked to be about
> 1/10 of a mile out of the park. If I can get to the
BLM office (unlikely as
> busy as I've been) I'll check the MTPs (opps there I
go again, that's Master
> Title Plats), kind of the offical US government
surveys, they used to be on
> microfiche (sp?), maybe they're on the net now. Need
to look by Township
> and Range....
>
> OK, so who do I work far? I will mention this at
some risk, being a
> government employee doesn't always mean that the
First Amendment applies to
> you (I DO speak from experience)....
>
> Coronado National Forest, Radio System Manager
(12/2001-Present)
> Cleveland National Forest (San Diego, CA), variety of
positions, last Radio
> System Manager (10/1993-12/2002)
> Santa Fe National Forest, Public Affairs Officer
(3/1989-10/1993)
> Ridgecrest (CA) RA Office, BLM, Interpretive
Specialist (4/1981-3/1989)
> Rawlins (WY), DO BLM, Wilderness Specialist
(12/1978-4/1981)
> Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National
Historic Site, (what a name
> for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis), Ranger, NPS
(6/74-12/78)
> and seasonal Park Service jobs while going to college.
>
> FWIW: I always wanted to work in Civil War
battlefields (my degree is in
> Recreation, with a minor in American History), my
father wanted me to be an
> EE. Now I work with radios. Dad was right....
>
> Note, that I work on radios. Lotsa radios. Close to
500 (repeaters, base
> stations, mobiles, and portables) radios. I really
don't have anything to do
> about the management of National Forest System lands.
I will probably never
> again be in a position where I can influence
management decisions on
> geocaching on Forest Service administered lands. I'm
not sure I would want
> to be in such a position.
>
> My wife and I have used geocaching to learn our new
hometown. We have
> greatly enjoyed it. Since our home is under
construction (well, we're
> having trouble getting a building permit from Pima
County, but that's
> another story...) we have not yet placed any caches,
but we have some ideas
> and at the end of fire season (which started awful
early this year) and when
> our house is completed we hope to be offering some
challenges. We enjoyed
> meeting many cacher's at the "See You as Sus" event,
and we look forward to
> other get-togethers.
>
> Team Boulder Creek
> Fred Coe (my wife is Bonnie)
> Coronado-91 (after today maybe Coronado-9 or even CNF
Comm-1, who knows?,
> who cares?, my work radio callsign)
> WA0RTO (my amateur radio callsign)
> wa0rto@hotmail.com
>
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