Legislators in my home state of SC have been working on a bill that restricts where geocaches can be placed on state property. Thankfully, geocachers raised their concerns about the original bill, and they gained some concessions as a result.
Apparently some property owners have had some trouble with geocachers on their property. I admit that would be frustrating, but it seems the state's response was highly reactionary. That's not a good way to legislate.
As with any pursuit, there will be some participants who don't act properly. Ever seen a beer bottle or can around a campsite? Or cigarette butts at a boat landing?
Rodger Stroup, director of the S.C. Department of Archives and History, said the key is for managers of the property to have control over what goes on there.“We want these people to come to our historic sites and learn about them,” Stroup said. “If they find them using technology, that’s fine.”
In my view, geocaching is doing exactly what Mr. Stroup wants. Of the five SC geocaches I've found, three were historical in nature. One of those was in a state park.
The other geocaches that I've found in other states have taught me about the history of the area or at the least exposed me to interesting new locations that I'd otherwise not visit. I imagine there are more than a few young kids who are learning some history as they cache with their families.
More and more states and local governments are creating guidelines for the placement of geocaches. Here in Virginia, I'm not aware of an official policy, but the state tourism website devotes a page to the state's geocaching possibilities.
To the west, the state parks department in West Virginia has taken a pro-active approach to geocaching. They've set up policies to govern geocaching, but at the same time they readily encourage geocachers to use state property. My only WV cache find, which has since been removed, was either in a state park or just outside its borders.
Sandwiched between the seemingly laissez-faire VA caches and SC's embattled caches is North Carolina, which, like its neighbor to the south, has taken a rather pessimistic approach to geocaching. I see that NC prohibits leaving "weapons of any kind" in geocaches. Guess when I visit any NC state park caches I'd better not swap the pocket knives I've been known leave.
Geocachingpolicy.info has created a listing of policies in the US and several foreign countries. The National Park Service prohibits the placing of physical caches on its property, but there are some "virtual" caches in park land. The Forest Service typically has little problem with physical geocaches.
Hat tip: Jeff Quinton at Backcountry Conservative
Posted by JRC at April 27, 2005 05:11 PM | TrackBack