ertyu

1. When did you start Geocaching?

I found Bridgeview I, the closest cache to my house on July 24, 2003.

2. How did you find out about Geocaching?

I had seen it mentioned on a couple tech websites.

3. What was it about geocaching that got you hooked into the game?

Excuses. Namely, an excuse to get a new gadget, an excuse to get out, explore and exercise. That’s what got me started, what keeps me coming back are all the lovely experiences of being out alone discovering a new area or seeing something you’ve never seen before.

Meeting with Cathy from Provincial Parks regarding the Development of a Geocaching Policy

• Cathy is a planner with Provincial Parks, conservation and recreation based.
• There are approx. 100 parks, each with different rules
• A benefit of geocaching is it may attract people to underutilized parks
• Concern: the creation of new trails that interfere with current park users, and the increase in traffic
• Concern: all-terrain vehicles – are they popular in geocaching? Will they be creating new trails?
• Caches located off the trails have potential pitfalls
• Trying to avoid an official permitting feature. They are trying to keep it at a district level – need to find out prior to placing the cache if it will be okay. A form will be filled out and kept as proof of authorization. You will be able to get a copy of the form if requested.

Location: Big Guys N49 49.649 W097 06.356
Time: 8:06 --> 9:20

Present:
Steven (ertyu), Brian (grnbrg), Tobey (3Ts&aG), Roger (The-Stuntman), Peter (Peter and Gloria), Scott (Lizardo), Dani (dani_carriere)

Absent:
Jen (ava_ad0re), Daniel (Master Instigator), Teal (pink_panther)

Members Present:
Paula (Mhz), Sandra (junglehair)

Congratulations to the following MBGA members who have reached milestones during the past month.

100 Finds:

300 Finds:

500 Finds:

600 Finds:

700 Finds:

100 Hides:

The MBGA would like to welcome Junglehair back to Winnipeg.

On May 5 and 6 of 2006, there were collaborative discussions between Parks Canada, Geocachers and Non-Government Organizations (NGO's) in Gatineau, Quebec. The purpose of the workshop was to jointly create policy recommendations for Parks Canada management at their invitation. It was a positive experience for all participants involved. This was step two of five in the second phase in a process that started May 2005 to develop a geocaching policy. An anticipated implementation date for the policy is Spring 2007. Until a final policy is in place, the interim policy remains in effect. We are optimistic that some form of physical geocaching will exist in Parks Canada in the future. A more in depth summary of details will follow.