How To Get Your EarthCache Permission.

Sadly this seems to be one of the hardest things that people go though when they are submitting an EarthCache.  The rules of when permission is needed can be different in different countries.  In general you should plan on it, especially if you leave tht paved roads that have a lot of access.

Why?

I hear this a lot.  It comes in a few different forms.  Why do I need permission?  It is public land why should I get permission?  Those seem to be the most prevalent.

First, lands may be public, but they still have a land manager.  They have specific tasks.  Protect the park, create tourism, explain the area to guests, keep the area pristine;  these are all examples of some of the things they have to do.  Usually by law or rules from their bosses. So they review what goes on in their area of responsibility.

Over the four years I have been looking at EarthCaches i have seen a few reasons for denial.

Sensitive ecological area - Plants, animals, areas that may receive damage from people moving on them.  They may be tasked with saving an endangered animal,  dropping an EarthCache that drags visitors into some nesting ground does not help.  A few caves have been declared off limits to protect local bat populations.

Historical Sites - Many sites are protected by obscurity.  They do not publish where native American artifacts are located.  You may not even know they are there, but they do not want people poking around that area.  Of course if they had more money they could do something, but lacking that they just try and keep people away.

Culturally Significant - The one that comes to mind is Rainbow Bridge National Monument.  Every year I get a submission for that monument.  It is sacred to the Native Americans.  As such the park does not advertise or push the monument much.  A discussion with the park management told me that they had no intention to approve anything there because of the sacred nature to the native Americans in the area. 

Protect the local minerals/fossils.  A few sites have been denied for this reason.  Dinosaur bones in the desert are left alone.  Letting people know about the site can cause people to gather them up when they visit.  I have seen this for sites in national parks where obsidian or petrified wood is located.  Rangers do not want these to walk away.  It happens.  A national park  Fossil Cycan National Monument was one.  Everyone pilfered the park, and it was removed.  

Here is my step by step process.

Find the topic.

1. Write up basic information.
2. Find out about other caches/EarthCaches in the area.
3. Contact park educational outreach with the information info.
4. Get Permission.

Know who to ask. 

Many parks and properties have a number of employees, a

nd each one has  their own duties and responsibilities.  Going to the wrong one can cause you unneeded grief, or can just piss someone off.  Some cachers have been very rude.   I have spoken with over two dozen land managers, and with managers of over 15 National Parks.  Most have the same issues, and concerns.

If you walk in and demand to see the park manager you may find success or miserable failure.  Remember these people are working, their jobs have seen a hu

ge increase in workload in the last few years.  Budget cuts and hiring freezes have wrecked havoc on many land managers.   

Some parks are huge.  They manage a large number of employees and contractors that come into the parks.  Interrupting  their important work  of hiring, repairing, dealing with problems, animals and people to deal with permission for an EarthCache and annoy them.  

If you walk in and talk to the National Park Ranger over enforcement you may get a completely different answer and reception that the ranger over education.  One is trying to determine if you are violating any laws, if this is prone to cause problems, or cause damage.  The other will look at this as a way to educate visitors about the park, and about the content.

Do your research to answer questions.  

These are the most common questions that I see:

Where is it?  I am shocked that many do not know how to read coordinates.  The simplest way I have found is to find it on Google maps, drop a pin, then there is a link to your little map.  Give them as much info as you can.

What are you teaching?  Simple, give them a copy.  They may ask for corrections, or you to change some information.

Is it near a road or trail?  Many parks are worried about damage. Take a moment to let them know how far from the trail, and what trail.

How many visitors do you expect?  This is usually pretty simple.  I find the caches nearby, or EarthCaches, and can tell them.   "Cache X is a mile away, it gets about 15 visitors a year"  This usually relieves the worry that you are setting up a site with 1000 new people showing up and tearing the area apart.

The contact

If you are nearby try make an appointment or go in person.  Talking with someone, if you are not interrupting or causing problems,  goes a long ways.  Be ready for a long wait if you are only doing the email thing.  Remember that if you send an email you might be buried.  Questions will be slow to come by.  Sometimes it works well, other times expect something slow.  Consider the phone, but be respectful.

Hopefully these help just a little.

Earthcache Guidelines Updated

The Geoaware team has been working for a month or more on updates to the new guidelines.  There are not actually many changes on the surface.  If you are making your first Earthcache, and you are diving into things you will not have much to worry about.

This goes over some of the changes, and just to describe them.

Purpose

Ultimately the purpose was to clarify things.  Dealing with complaints from cachers, community, land managers, and the review team.  We have a lot of people repeating the same process, and the same errors.  Sometimes cache after cache.  I will toss a few of the small changes, and go through them here.  In the past things may have been interpreted more liberally, so you may hit some roadblocks.

1. Earthcaches must provide an earth science lesson.

This is the shortest guideline (now).  Yet it is the one that I see the most problems with.  What is your cache about?  Does it teach?  These are the core parts of an Earthcache.

Earthcaches focus on the solid earth and the processes that shape it.

That means that many of the things that are submitted do not fit.  Biology, Botany, Zoology, Ecology, Atmospheric observations, Oceanographic observations, Geodesy, Archeology, History, and Engineering, are normally not accepted.  They fall outside the solid earth.  Many get upset at the reviewers, or point at other caches, but currently we do not.

2. Earthcaches must be educational

I see many submissions that do not teach a lesson.  Taking someone to a pretty view, or showing them a cool site is not enough.  Education is the second most important part of an Earthcache.

I see two common errors. Many caches I received take people to a hillside and ask people to tell me the number of a sign.   There is not educational material on there.   The second would be one that someone writes a lot of information on the plants and animals in the marsh.  When the reviewer lets them know that they need to do more, they then add to the 2000 word document another 1000 words and diagrams.  We now have a massive document.

Hint.  Teach people, but stay on topic.  Oh, and don't write a book on it.

Also, if you are a geologist, or know a lot about the geology, look at it from the level of a 14 year old.  You may have to describe a few more things for that level.

3. Earthcaches must highlight a unique feature.

We see many listings that are something that is not unique.  If a cache is written about the erosion of an area, you may not be able to do one on the same cache 30 minutes away. You may be able to if you are teaching something different. 

That said, there can be a few Earthcaches at the same location.  A cache on the stones, and another on the erosion could be at the same location (depending on how they are written up).

The feature should also be unique.  A river stone is not necessarily unique.  In fact this is why waterfalls, glacial erratics, springs, etc are no longer accepted. They are not unique.

4. Earthcaches must have approval from the Land Manager prior to submission

Some parks, cites, forest, etc have developed policies about containerless caches. If they have that policy online please point to that in a log.  If you think that you do not need permission explain why.  Just because the location is public does not mean you do not need permission.

Note for a National Park, you will need written permission.  It is part of the agreement with the National Park Service in helping with the program.  The email should be sent directly to the reviewer. 

5. An Earthcache can be a single site or multiple sites.

You have to have visited to location.  Do not toss out a site that you have never been to.  You may have problems in the review if you have not.  You need to get the coordinates there, and make sure the area is open to the public.  

Your cache can be at one location, or ask people to visit  4-5 locations.  I do not think this means that you can pick one of a number of locations to actually answer the question.  But I would have to see on a case by case basis.

6. Logging an Earthcache requires visitors to undertake a site-specific task which provides a learning opportunity related to the topic.

You must use information from the cache page, and the location, to perform a task to help the person learn. Those tasks needs to be about the geology of the site.  A word off a sign, couning fence posts or stairs, pillars, etc does not have anything to do with geology and will not be accepted as an Earthcache logging task.

That task is the proof of a visit. Photos are still not allowed, and you have to be able to send your answers to the cache owner through the Geocaching profile.  That also means that auto-responders are not allowed.  Why?  You are not maintaining your cache.  You are creating something to take care of the work for you.  Also auto-responders do not allow you to have good logging tasks.  You want an answer like 7, or green.  Not a logging task that makes someone think, or educate.

Also when you submit your cache, place your answers in a reviewer note. 

7. The Earthcache text and logging tasks must be submitted in the local language.

I think the is obvious.

8. Respect Trademarks and Copyright and only use text, images or logos if you have permission.

We have seen more and more caches where someone is copying entire web pages, logo or diagrams without permission.  Many state agencies, or other organizations would like a reference to the book or website where you got the information.  Just because it is on the internet, does not mean you can copy it entirely. 

9. Earthcache sites adhere to the principles of geocaching and Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.

Don't dig a hole, tear up the ground, paint something, or leave a cache or other materials at the cache site.  Try and stay near trails/roads.  Stay away from fragile ecosystems.

10. Earthcaches are submitted through geocaching.com and must meet these guidelines and adhere to the Geocache Listing Requirements / Guidelines and geocaching.com Site Terms of Use Agreement.

Yep.  Simple.

Conclusion

We had a number of problems, small and repeated.  So some tweaks were made.  Sorry for those that wanted photos back. 

On that note.  I was one of the most vocal at first that the photos were needed. Taking them away was stupid. I think that was the term I used.  I now disagree.  This is not a virtual cache, it is an educational experience.  A photo means the person does not have to actually answer the questions, and the owner does not have to actually see that they learn.

Earthcaches is education about geology and this earth.  Not photography, not numbers.  Take some time, and enjoy the world around you.