On Tuesday, September 30,2003
7:00p.m. - 8:30p.m.
Last year Arizona Site Stewards began finding Geocaches located at a few of the archaeological sites they monitor. They alerted the land managers to the potential impacts of the game being played at or near archaeological sites (or in conservation areas). In September 2002, the State Historic Preservation Office, the BLM, and Steve Gross (unofficially representing the Geocachers) co-sponsored a meeting between the Geocaching community and the land managers to discuss ways of Geocaching could be played in an appropriate manner on public lands. |We invited each of the public land managers, as well as representatives of tribes and several of the preserves in the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area, to discuss their policies to the Geocachers. The Geocachers were given equal time to voice concerns and time to network with the land managers. Many of the land managing agencies had never heard of the game of Geocaching and were unaware that the game was being playing on lands under their jurisdiction. Except for the National Park Service, many had no formal or even an informal policy regarding this type of activity. Some felt it is an appropriate use of public lands, others felt there should be some limitations. We felt the meeting was beneficial in bringing the issue to the front and in opening dialogue between the Geocachers, the various land managers, and the Arizona Site Stewards who volunteer for the various land mangers in cultural resource protection. By this time, most of the land managers have formalized a policy for this type of game. We would like to engage a new generation of Geocachers to the rules for playing the game on public lands. To this end, we are sponsoring a roundtable discussion for land managers and Geocachers. If you feel Geocaching may be an issue for cultural resource management in the future or if you are a Geocacher and want to have your voice heard, we invite you to attend this informal discussion group at the
Pueblo Grande Museum
4619 E. Washington
Phoenix, Arizona
[MAP]
Refreshments will be served, courtesy of the Arizona Site Steward Program.
Please RSVP to Mary Estes at 602.542.7143; e-mail: Mestes �at� pr �dot� state �dot� az �dot� US.
Geocachers: please RSVP to Steve Gross at teamtierrabuena �at� earthlink �dot� net.