[Az-Geocaching] Cache Placement rules

[Team Tierra Buena]

> Has anybody written a summary of rules and contacts for 
> Arizona lands and posted it anywhere. 

The short answer is "No". One of the problems is that many agencies
either have no policy, or have never published any policy they do have,
which is effectively the same thing.


> So, I place a cache in a bush in a park (lets say encanto 
> park, just for grins - no I am not planning one there 
> presently). Who do I ask for permission, or do I need to 
> because it is a city park? What about Glendale, Peoria, etc.?

Phoenix Parks and Recreation is very aware of Geocaching, but that is
because of their concern about the city mountain preserves. I don't know
anything about the other cities you mentioned; perhaps someone else
does. I have no idea how they would react to the idea of a cache in
"let's say encanto park". There was one there that has since been
archived. I doubt that the owner asked for permission. I confess that we
placed "roadrunners" in a Phoenix city park without asking for
permission. It was also the last cache we hid. My opinion now is you
SHOULD ask for permission before placing any physical cache, but you
should be prepared, depending on the agency involved and for any one of
a number of reasons, for the fact that you may not get that consent.
> 
> What about a neighborhood park (like in a subdivision, not 
> next to a school)?  Or in a neighborhood flood control park?

If the neighborhood park is HOA property, you probably won't get
permission, even if you live there.
 
> What about having clues on school property? Not the caches, 
> but clues? I know that there are rules for visitors on school 
> properties, are we to ask them to put a sticker or label on 
> one of their light poles?

In this day and age there are some places you should simply avoid, and I
would put schools on that list, along with airports, railroad tracks,
and any "public" area that isn't freely open to the general public.
 
> National forest lands have been discussed since I have been 
> on the thread, and are generally ok, but contact the ranger 
> before/after the hide? Be careful not to place it near a 
> archiological site.

Contact the rangers before, unless you're willing to go back and
retrieve it if you discover there is a problem. You may be placing a
cache near an archaeological site without even realizing it.

> Reservation lands are off limits.

Absolutely.

> I also see that they exist on state trust lands as well. What 
> about the stuff just a few miles out of town? Do I need 
> permission from somebody? I know that I need a permit to 
> travel on these lands. But, what about hidding something out 
> there? 

State Land Trust has been pretty clear that as long as you have a
permit, they don't care what you're doing as long as you're not
violating any posted rules. It's important to remember that the State
Land Trust has no conservation mandate, so they can afford to be
easygoing. Their only job is to sell the land, not to preserve or
maintain it.

> I have seen some of the junk left about out there 
> (abandoned cars, wheels, beer cans, etc).  I see that the 
> general group tries to be good and clean up where possible. 
> But, are we adding to it by putting our caches out there?

If you're talking about State Trust land specifically, nothing we do can
possibly harm that land any more than the thoughtless people who have
been harming it since long before civilians could even buy a GPS. But
there are lots of other people and agencies who would consider your ammo
can or plasticware as offensive as beer cans and shotgun shells.

Steve
Team Tierra Buena