Seeking Geocaches:

* Seeking of caches is open to visitors of the Thunder Bay Karst Preserve units & the Fiborn Karst Preserve which are owned and managed by the Michigan Karst Conservancy.

Placement of Geocaches in Thunder Bay Karst Preserves units & the Fiborn Karst Preserve:

* Physical caches will require a permit.
* There is no charge to place a geocache on MKC managed properties that are available for placement of geocaches.
* Individual Use Permits may be issued for a period not to exceed two years.
* The person applying for an Individual Use Permit for placing a Geocache must be a registered and verified member with www.geocaching.com.
* The person applying for the permit shall provide a valid email, address and telephone number as well as a location specification and listing of the initial cache items.
* The cache placement location, including GPS coordinates, must be stated on the permit and approved by the MKC (or the appointed representative) to minimize undesirable impacts to cultural and natural resources as well as minimize hazards to the public.
* No physical cache shall be placed more than 50 feet from any established trail.
* No physical cache shall be placed closer then 50 feet to any sheer drop of more than 3 feet.
* No physical cache shall be placed closer then 50 feet to any cliff of more than 10 feet.
* No physical cache shall be in any area that has standing water or any area that looks as if standing water could exist.
* A specific time period, of up to two years, when a cache may be left in place shall be designated to minimize the creation of spur trails. At the end of the designated time period the cache is to be removed or moved and the website posting retired, or changed to reflect the new positioning, by the permit holder. The permit holder shall also communicate these changes to the MKC. The actual time period the cache is permitted to be in one place will not exceed two years. Special extensions could be granted on a cache by cache bases.

* Geocaches must adhere to the published guidelines for creating and placing a cache. Those guidelines may be found here: http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx.

* Caches may not be buried, nor may vegetation, logs, stones, etc. be unnecessarily disturbed when selecting cache locations.

* Cache containers are to made of a durable material and have some form of latch or other closure to deter wildlife. Cache containers shall also have some identifying markings or a sticker (available online through MiGO), that identifies the container as a bona fide Geocache.

* Contents of the cache are subject to inspection by MKC staff at any time. MKC field staff will have the authority to remove any items deemed unacceptable. Any items placed in the Geocache that is prohibited by the MKC or geocaching.com may be cause for removal. All contents of the cache must meet with Geocaching’s guidelines. Items prohibited include food, alcohol, drugs, medications of any type, pornography, weapons of any type, pyrotechnics, commercial advertising or any other matter deemed in appropriate by the MKC. A logbook is required and to be supplied by the person placing the Geocache.

* Geocaches are prohibited unless approved by the MKC in designated natural areas, archeological sites and other areas of concern as designated by the MKC.

* Staff will be authorized to remove any cache that does not meet these requirements.

* Failure to abide by use permit conditions may jeopardize the ability of that individual to obtain future permits for caches. Language to that effect will be included in the use permit conditions.

* The following statement shall be included on the geocaching.com web page:

“This cache is located within the ____________________ preserve, which is owned and managed by the Michigan Karst Conservancy. All of the preserves managed by the MKC are free to visit. Parking is allowed only in the designated areas. Always practice Cache In, Trash Out.”

PROCEDURE

In consideration of the above concerns it has been decided to manage geocaching through the use permit procedure. If this activity is found to have a negative impact on the preserves or presents public safety issues, the MKC may ban geocaching from specific preserve areas or an entire preserve. The following conditions are to be addressed when issuing a geocaching use permit:

Approval of Proposed Geocaches

MKC shall maintain, within its membership, a person who will approve geocaching permits. Since the availability of this approver to inspect each geocache’s placement is not practical before each permit is approved, permits may be approved and then later revoked if any guide line has not been met.

Geocaching web sites are:

www.geocaching.com

www.mi-geocaching.org