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Post by NorthWes on Jan 7, 2014 7:34:43 GMT -9
While we'd normally have the 2014 State Park Permit in hand at this date, we're still working with our contact Ranger to modify portions of the Special Provisions to the 2013 permit to better describe exactly how some processes are handled through the Geocaching.com listing website. We're very near completion of the permit, but our contact has been out of office recently and unable to complete our requested review. Please be patient as we finalize the 2014 permit application to the completion point. A review of the 2013 permit thread will help you understand some of the areas we're asking to be modified. Stay tuned to this thread for updates. When the permit is finalized and issued, we'll announce it via this thread on the forum, by our newsletter, on our Facebook page, and via our other communication channels.
Again, thank you for your patience. Existing caches are unaffected, but until the new permit is in place we cannot place new caches in Chugach, Kenai, or Mat-Su State Parks.
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 7, 2014 9:32:01 GMT -9
Thanks for the info NW The current permit is still valid
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Post by ladybugkids on Jan 7, 2014 17:38:22 GMT -9
The current permit is still valid Chugach and Kenai has a December 31, 2013 expiration date on page one, and Mat-Su Stipulation #19 says "permit is valid for the calendar year issued."
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 7, 2014 21:26:44 GMT -9
Uh oh!! Guess my memory is not that good. I thought the Ak park one was good for a year from time of issue.
Thanks for the clarification Mike.
Guess I don't need to be in a hurry to write up cache pages in the chugach!
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Post by ladybugkids on Jan 7, 2014 21:58:10 GMT -9
I believe a previous Chugach or Mat-Su State Park permit was written for twelve months, running until February.
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Post by NorthWes on Jan 16, 2014 15:32:56 GMT -9
Until the new one is approved, prior caches placed under the 2013 permit may remain in play. However... nothing new until the 2014 gets approved.
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 27, 2014 18:02:04 GMT -9
Any updates here?
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Post by NorthWes on Jan 28, 2014 10:31:51 GMT -9
Second round is underway, with a change of reviewer.
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 28, 2014 16:00:54 GMT -9
Thanks Turns out what I thought I needed it for will be delayed Boohoo!
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Post by SSO JOAT on May 30, 2014 11:32:06 GMT -9
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Post by NeverSummer on Jun 2, 2014 15:27:54 GMT -9
This is great news! Thanks for getting this all taken care of, Advocacy folks! FYI: The Land Manager Page should get a refresh with the information about individual State Park areas falling under the State Park Permit. Chugach is called out under "Anchorage", and it might be helpful to call out individual Park units in Southcentral, rather than lumped into a single paragraph. It is confusing between resources right now--The permit and language on the forum posts mentions it, but the webpage does not line each park unit out. The way things on some forum posts read right now makes it sound like the permit is for Chugach State Park, not all of the parks that are covered within the document iteself--it all gets buried at the bottom of the page under "SouthCentral". It might be well served to call it out in the "Statewide" section, and line out the parks that fall under the permit. Elsewhere, however (like in this thread), it makes it a little more clear. _____ As an aside--from someone who hasn't yet traveled much outside of the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Palmer and Wasilla--are there other parks in Alaska that are covered under other permits? Is this only for the Parks listed, or is this permit to stand as the state-wide overarching "Alaska State Park Permit" for geocaching? Thanks for any clarification. Attachments:
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 2, 2014 16:05:17 GMT -9
NorthWes is currently working to determine which State Parks, Recreation Areas, and Marine Parks fit within the "Areas" referenced on the permit.
I expect the answer to be the permit applies to all State Parks parcels (Parks, Recreation Areas, Marine Parks) along the road system south of the Denali Highway, down the Richardson Hwy. to to Valdez, the Parks Hwy to Anchorage, Chugach State Park, and all State Parks parcels in Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula.
Once a definitive answer is provided, I will gin up gpx files folks can load into their GPSs and MapSource/Basecamp/GoogleEarth so they can know in the field and at home where the various boundaries are.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 3, 2014 18:22:24 GMT -9
Yes... it is confusing, because our permit is not crystal clear. The Land Manager page is waiting for some further details before it gets another update. In the future, we are looking at having a complete listing of parks under each permit with a map showing where they are. Be patient. It's all in the hopper (and has been for quite some time), but the process is very slow.
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Post by NeverSummer on Jun 4, 2014 7:40:04 GMT -9
Thanks for the context, updates, and info LBK and JOAT.
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Post by barnacle9 on Jun 6, 2014 17:09:31 GMT -9
Uh oh - does this mean my caches in the South Esther Island State Marine Park require this permit? coord.info/GC483GKcoord.info/GC4K22BFor some reason I thought they didn't. Can anyone confirm one way or the other?
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 6, 2014 17:39:40 GMT -9
Good question, but not easily answered. When negotiating the permit, it was supposed to be for all State Parks in Alaska. But the wording on the permit itself doesn't match up with that. I know that GLR is working on getting a shape file together that shows all the state parks affected by this permit. I'm hopeful that we can get some detailed maps and such built for our website that will clarify where the permit is good.
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 7, 2014 19:14:22 GMT -9
Uh oh - does this mean my caches in the South Esther Island State Marine Park require this permit? coord.info/GC483GKcoord.info/GC4K22BFor some reason I thought they didn't. Can anyone confirm one way or the other? Stand by as NorthWes and I try to sort things out with State Parks. What exactly is covered by the Land Management Units as State Parks named them in the new (and last) permit is somewhat murky. I did my own research and generated a list of which parcels I believe the permit covers and Wes shared it with his State Parks contacts. As soon as we know the answer, the exact list of parcels will be posted in here and on the website and polygon files to upload into Basecamp/GoogleEarth/and most GPSs will be provided.
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Post by NorthWes on Jun 8, 2014 19:29:53 GMT -9
Uh oh - does this mean my caches in the South Esther Island State Marine Park require this permit? coord.info/GC483GKcoord.info/GC4K22BFor some reason I thought they didn't. Can anyone confirm one way or the other? South Esther Island Marine Park is covered in this and prior permits, as one of the Prince Wm Sound / Seward Area state park units. We're asking the permit issuing authority to review a list of state parks in the area (as described in an earlier post in this thread by Ladybug Kids) which the Parks folks refer to in a collective sense at the "Prince Wm Sound / Seward Area State Parks." The list was gleaned from the Parks' online website (which isn't as site-specific or site-list friendly as one might expect) by Ladybug Kids. We're working to refine how the permit acts to support geocaching. That includes a more precise definition of exactly what units are covered (rather than just a broad regional name), and we'll be providing our required cache listing report back to State Parks by listing the caches in subsets of the particular parks they're placed in. There's some wording we'd like changed in the special conditions as well. My recommendation is to mark your cache containers with the new permit number the next time you anchor up at South Esther and make your cache maintenance visit (I commend you for having made those maintenance visits in the past, despite how relatively remote these two caches are). I doubt there will be any problem with State Parks in the interim!
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 9, 2014 8:13:24 GMT -9
My recommendation is to mark your cache containers with the new permit number the next time you anchor up at South Esther and make your cache maintenance visit (I commend you for having made those maintenance visits in the past, despite how relatively remote these two caches are). I doubt there will be any problem with State Parks in the interim! Actually, I recommend marking the cache with the permit number that was in place in 2013 when the cache was placed and adding the permit number to your cache pages (13-KA-1289). This is retroactive and non-urgent, but State Parks did not provide an itemized list of affected land parcels, so said list of land parcels could not be communicated to Alaskan geocachers. Hopefully, the State Parks folks will give us what we need to effectively comply with the permit in the very near future. Once we have all the land parcels, gpx files with parcel boundaries will be provided online for download into one's GPS or GoogleEarth. Then, one can see if one is inside or outside a boundary like this (click for larger image):
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Post by NorthWes on Jun 9, 2014 9:37:50 GMT -9
Good point, Mike!
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Post by barnacle9 on Jun 10, 2014 17:40:26 GMT -9
Thank you guys - I probably will not get back to Esther until late July or early August. In the meantime, I will update my cache pages to reflect the permit number.
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 13, 2014 7:57:44 GMT -9
I'm looking for some folks to help me with beta-testing the first baby steps toward making Alaska State Park boundaries easily accessible to geocachers. Ultimately, this will grow to include National Park boundaries and USFWS Refuge boundaries. Knowing the boundaries of these land parcels are important so a cacher knows if they are placing a cache within an area that requires a permit or an area where geocaching is banned.
I converted three sample State Land Parcels to gpx files that should be compatible with most GPSs. The following instructions are for using the files on an Oregon 450. Other Garmin models should have similar menu choices.
1. Copy the file to Garmin Oregon/Garmin/GPX folder. Alternatively, you may copy the file to the memory chip at Driveletter:Garmin/GPX.
2. Go to the "Track Manager" menu of your GPS
3. Scroll down the list of tracks until you see the State Park Parcel you wish to view
4. Select the State Park Parcel
5. Select "View Map" to view the parcel on your GPS map 6. Select "Set Color" to change the boundary color from magenta to a color of your choice
7. You may toggle whether the parcel appears on your GPS by selecting "Show on Map/Hide on Map"
8. You may rename the parcel by selecting "Change Name"
Using Garmin BaseCamp: 1. Download the file(s) a location of your choice on your desktop computer 2. Open Garmin BaseCamp 3. Left click on Library/My Collection 4. Right click, New Folder. 5. Right click on the New Folder and rename it to "StateParks" for another name of your choice 6. File > Import into "StateParks" and select the desired GPX file from your desktop computer 7. Right click on the State Park you wish to view > Show on Map 8. If you wish to change the boundary color, Double click on the boundary on the map 9. Select a different color from the pull down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the "Properties" box 10. Alternatively, you may double click on the track log in the lower-left window to open the file properties. 11. To send the file to your Garmin GPS, File > Export > Save as File Type *.gpx and save to Garmin Oregon/Garmin/GPX folder. Alternatively, you may save the file to the memory chip at Driveletter:Garmin/GPX.
Using Garmin MapSource 1. Download the file(s) a location of your choice on your desktop computer 2. Open Garmin MapSource 3. File > Open > Select the file from your desktop computer. The file will appear in the "Tracks" tab 4. Double click on the file to open the Properties box. Select your desired color in the "Color" box. 5. Click "Show on Map" to view the parcel on your monitor 6. To copy the file to your GPS, File>Save As>Save as Type *.gpx > and save to Garmin Oregon/Garmin/GPX folder. Alternatively, you may save the file to the memory chip at Driveletter:Garmin/GPX.
CHUGACH SP.gpx (212.71 KB)-complex file with sixteen private land inholdings
CAPTAIN COOK SRA.gpx (23.57 KB)-simple polygon file
SOUTH ESTHER ISLAND SMP.gpx (11.94 KB)-simple polygon file
SP: State Park SRA: State Recreation Area SMP: State Marine Park
Input I am seeking includes:
1. Does the above download process work for you? 2. Can you view the boundaries on your GPS? 3. Is a different default boundary color other than magenta is preferable? Does it matter since each user can configure their own color scheme in either MapSource, Basecamp, or the GPS itself? 4. If you use a different brand of GPS (DeLorme, Magellan) and work out how to make these files work, please post instructions in this thread.
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Post by barnacle9 on Jun 13, 2014 21:05:37 GMT -9
Works perfectly on my Oregon 550, as could be expected. The only difference for me in Base Camp is once I have created the folder in my collection, and put the files in it, I select the folder then go to Device > Send to Device. I will also be trying my original eTrex using EasyGPS to do the file transfer - should work - thanks!
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Post by barnacle9 on Jun 14, 2014 12:07:48 GMT -9
So I tried just a simple one to start (the South Esther MP file) on my original eTrex with serial port/usb adapter. Using an older version of EasyGPS I was able to transfer the file easily. Then I went to tracks on the GPSr, selected this one, and it showed a little picture of the track. However, it didn't seem to display on the main location screen until I selected 'trackback' for this track. This could have to do with the fact that I wasn't in the area, as the eTrex is pretty primitive in terms of display. At least it is proof of concept and method. If anyone has trouble with getting files onto their eTrex and displaying them, I would be happy to try and help. However, really nice units are available cheap these days, and I suggest upgrading :-)
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 14, 2014 14:24:29 GMT -9
Thanks, Seth, for the feedback.
As folks give this a try and post their comments here, I'll begin compiling a primer that will be posted with the full file set.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 14, 2014 17:38:27 GMT -9
I'm a little tied up for another couple days with training new guy at work, but I'll have a look at all of this stuff as soon as I can.
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Post by NorthWes on Jul 7, 2014 4:12:03 GMT -9
I've played with this a bit on BaseCamp, and am looking to do more. The instructions you provided worked for me, Mike, on my Oregon.
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 27, 2015 20:57:14 GMT -9
Downloaded CSP directly to my 450. The first map ie 017 shows the Chugach above Anchorage etc.
Do the maps shown below that show areas that are not Park Land? I have looked at several and they appear to be inside what is shown on map 017 so I am guessing they are showing private land?
Is this correct?
The download was straight forward and yes I can see the boundary on my GPS!
and yes Mike, it shows the waypoint we spoke of recently is just inside the boundaries of Chugach. This is going to be very useful in that particular area! Thanks for reminding me of this post!
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Post by ladybugkids on Jan 28, 2015 7:39:46 GMT -9
The Chugach State Park GPX file is the most complex of all the state parks. It contains the outer boundary of the park PLUS sixteen (or so?) private inholdings that are not State Park land. So, if you see a polygon inside the state park boundary, it is not covered by the permit.
Glad to hear the download worked. Let me know if you want different line colors or thicknesses. You can actually change the color yourself on your GPS.
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 28, 2015 11:56:56 GMT -9
Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Color is fine and if I tire of it I saw where I could change! Thanks again!
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