[Az-Geocaching] Abuse of authority and trampling of our rights by power-hungry government officials

[listserv@azgeocaching.com]

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It seems all National Forest caches will soon be removed.

I am very distressed by the arbitrary and extreme actions that the Forest Service is doing by removing our caches.  This is our PUBLIC land, owned by everyone in the USA, and it is not the rangers' or the land managers' land.  Geocaching helps get more people out to National Forest land and gets people more actively engaged in outdoor activities and outdoor exercise.  Our activity has neglible impact on the environment, and many of us remove trash and litter during our geocaching hikes, so we can say that we have a positive impact on the environment.  It is a relatively low-cost activity that almost everyone can participate in at one level or another.

We need to protest this extreme action and get the Forest Service to stop removing our caches.  I used to consider myself an "environmentalist", but if being a good environmentalist means being opposed to geocaching, then I don't want to be a part of any such "environmental" movement.

How about contacting our U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives to tell forest rangers and managers to stop removing geocaching and interfering with geocaching?  We should get together and draft letters that we should sign and send all Arizona Congressional Representatives, and encourage people in other states to do the same with their own Representatives to Congress.  We can't passively overlook the threat to geocaching that our "public servants" are doing, the abuse of their authority and their trampling of our rights as U.S. citizens to enjoy our public lands - lands open and available to all for multiple-use activities.  The actions they are doing are more reminiscent of a communist regime or totalitarian dictatorship, not the U.S.A.

Ken Akerman
Concerned Citizen and Geocacher

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<P><EM>It seems all National Forest caches will soon be removed.<BR></EM><BR>I am very distressed by the arbitrary and extreme actions that the Forest Service is doing by removing our caches.&nbsp; This is our PUBLIC land, owned by everyone in the USA, and it is not the rangers' or the land managers' land.&nbsp; Geocaching helps get more people out to National Forest land and gets people more actively engaged in outdoor activities and outdoor exercise.&nbsp; Our activity has neglible impact on the environment, and many of us remove trash and litter during our geocaching hikes, so we can say that we have a positive impact on the environment.&nbsp; It is a relatively low-cost activity that almost everyone can participate in at one level or another.</P>
<P>We need to protest this extreme action and get the Forest Service to stop removing our caches.&nbsp; I used to consider myself an "environmentalist", but if being a good environmentalist means being opposed to geocaching, then I don't want to be a part of any such "environmental" movement.</P>
<P>How about contacting our U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives to tell forest rangers and managers to stop removing geocaching and interfering with geocaching?&nbsp; We should get together and draft letters that we should sign and send all Arizona Congressional Representatives, and encourage people in other states to do the same with their own Representatives to Congress.&nbsp; We can't passively overlook the threat to geocaching that our "public servants" are doing, the abuse of their authority and their trampling of our rights as U.S. citizens to enjoy <U>our</U> public lands - lands open and available to all for <U>multiple-use</U> activities.&nbsp; The actions they are doing are more reminiscent of a communist regime or totalitarian dictatorship, not the U.S.A.</P>
<P>Ken Akerman<BR>Concerned Citizen and Geocacher</P>
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