Author: Scott Sparks Date: To: listserv Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Re: Susperstition caches
I've read many good posts concerning the removal of caches from the
Superstition Wilderness Area in the past few days; too many to quote.
So, if I plagiarise anyone, let me offer my apologies beforehand. I
would like to add my .02 cents, even if just to support what others have
already stated.
First off, the _excuse_ that the Ranger District/Forest Service (or
whoever the concerned agency is) has reportedly used claiming that they
are trying to reduce the creation of new trails is just that-- an
excuse. And a poor one at that. Someone wrote (here) that they spoke
with an official at the Mesa Ranger office about making some of the
caches virtuals and they said that was okay. Sorry, but unless the
virtual is for a location right on the trail, or can be seen from the
trail, then a cacher would still need to leave the trail to log a
virtual find. So, their (the Ranger District's) B.S. excuse just
doesn't hold water. And, speaking of "damaging" the environment, for
crying out loud, I've seen one group of well-intentioned cub scouts or a
single Sherrif's Posse on horseback do more damage to the wilderness in
a day that a whole herd of geo-cachers could do in a year. (Do
geo-cachers travel in herds? :-) )
The second excuse I've heard is they will confiscate any property left
unattended for a specified period of time. I haven't seen an official
number yet so I'm not sure how long it is. I've heard from 24 hours to
14 days. (Anyone know the truth?) Anyway, I understand this regulation
and have always considered it a "litter" issue. I personally am
appalled when I come across not just typical "trash" type litter in the
Wilderness Area, but also things like clothing, backpacks and other
equipment, unused food items and other items that were obviously
abandoned because the person who carried it in was either too lazy to
carry it back out or too lazy to stop and pick it up when they (or their
pack animal) dropped it. Heck, we once happened upon an entire
encampment that had been abandoned on Black Top Mesa. This included
large military style canvas tents that were left behind and weeks worth
of canned provisions. The stuff was strewn about over an area of
several hundred yards, either by natural forces or the critters who make
their home there. The stuff had obviously been there for some time but
they weren't the kind of thing you would miss when you were packing up
to leave camp and head back to civilization. At any rate, I support the
removal of abandoned property, if it is causing a problem to the
environment or is an eyesore. I don't think a cache hidden off-trail,
out of site could be considered either. For a Ranger to make a
concerted effort to track something down that, if he hadn't been
instructed by his/her superiors, he wouldn't even have known existed.
That's sort of like your homeowner's association telling you you can't
paint the _interior_ of your house a certain color. Of course, they
never would have known what color the interior of your house was if your
nosy neighbor hadn't reported it. Again, I think the confiscation of
abandoned property rule, as the Ranger District has applied it to
caches, is pure hogwash.
A couple of people have alluded to the fact that the Rangers will
allow caches, as long as they have some control over it. This is what
it all boils down to, IMHO-- CONTROL!! As is typical with any gov't
agency charged with overseeing _anything_ on behalf of the public, if
they don't have an iron fisted control over it, then they ain't happy.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I don't want to
sound like an anarchist or a conspiracy nut, and I don't want to start
on a rant... so I'll just quit this line of discussion as it stands.
I've seen posted here several times that the Rangers "may" allow caches,
but only with prior consent; in the same breath they state that there
is currently no procedure in place for doing so. I've also read that
they have no official policy on geocaching. If that's true, then they
have no legal pretext to stop the placement of caches in the lands under
their jurisdiction. They can only remove caches when they search them
out and find them. This prompts, in my mind, a few possible avenues of
attack for the geocaching community. 1) Stop placing caches on _PUBLIC_
lands, sit back and wait for a few representatives to educate and hash
it out with the bureaucrats, which will drag on for years, and in the
end will inevitably result in further restrictions on our beloved
sport/hobby/obsession. Any descendant of virtually any tribe of
American Indians will probably tell you, "Yeah! That's the way to do it.
We were pascifists and look what it did for our people!" 2) Flood the
Wilderness with 'out of the way' caches faster than the Rangers can
track them down. In the end, they might just give up and let us have
our fun as long as we don't do any "real" damage. Again (using the
analogy of the American Indian, in the interest of parity) ask any
descendant of any of the "warring" tribes and they'll probably tell you,
"Yeah! That's the way to do it! We fought back and look what it did for
our people!" 3) Continue hiding caches in the Wilderness but don't
post the coordinates directly. Use posted coordinates that are
_outside_ the Wilderness with prerequisite cache legs that lead you to
the final destination or puzzles whose solutions lead you to the final
destination inside the "sacred ground." Perhaps this will lead to an
"out of sight,out of mind" policy. Look what it did for the American Eskimo!
As for the Ranger District's sudden interest (or disinterest) in caches
placed in lands under their jurisdiction, there's no doubt in my mind
that it all started because of either the previous bad press we've
received or a small number of complaints received from well-intentioned
but mis-informed (ie. nosy busybody) citizens. Some higher up official
has picked on the scent and is using it as a political stepping stone
because he/she feels he/she is doing the general public a favor (at the
same time garnering future votes or political appointment.) I can't
understand why the Ranger District isn't begging us to place caches on
their/our lands. After all, for every herd (see paragraph 2) of
geocachers that enters the Wilderness at one of the popular entrances, a
minimum of $4 in parking fees will be generated. In a time where the
state legislature is considering slashing budgets all over the place,
you'd think they'd be happy for every penny they can get.
(text/plain)