The perils of geocaching The perils of geocaching (September 14, 2005)

With an estimated 186,000 caches dotting the landscape -- including many in woodlands, hillsides and in parks -- some public agencies are putting the brakes on geocaching, fearing "geotrample" may degrade sensitive habitats.

In an April 2004 article entitled "Over the River and Through the Woods," U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Social Scientist Deborah Chavez described emerging degradation issues in some wildlands, where more daring cachers go off trail, to hide and find caches.

Off-trail use opens a "Pandora's box of soil erosion," some land managers state. They believe degradation of an endangered species habitat may be on par with killing or poaching the species itself, according to an article that cited Chavez's study in Parks and Recreation magazine.

Staff at Mt. Diablo, Henry Coe State Park and Mt. Tamalpais have attributed increased litter and improper disposal of human waste to geocachers, according to the article, although it doesn't explain how geocachers' waste is distinguished from waste deposited by other park users.

Geocaching.com, which coordinates the game, notes that they are very concerned about the environmental impact of geocaching in the world's forests. Caches reported to endanger the environment are removed, according to the site.

Caches are not allowed in national parks, and some states are considering legislation to prohibit caching in historically significant areas and cemeteries.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which owns 49,000 acres of open space in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, has no official policy on geocaching but is considering developing one, according to Julie Norton, communications affairs supervisor. The district has received mixed reports of damage caused by cachers, but hasn't explicitly tracked it, she said.

"We are watching and evaluating it," she said, and pointed out that some people consider caches left in open space to be trash.

Other unforeseen perils have emerged in a post 9-11 world: Homeland security issues have made the geocaching community rethink where they hide treasures. Some incidents in southern California resulted from caches being places near airports and bridges. In some cases, areas were cordoned off and evacuated, or the bomb squad was called in, after someone spotted a suspicious container or person geocaching around potential targets, according to a Southern California geocachers Web site.

-- Sue Dremann

E-mail a friend a link to this story.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]