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Post by TundraQuad on Sept 14, 2007 11:13:37 GMT -9
Geocachers in the Fairbanks area searching for caches have become lab rats. A cacher UAF student here, Sancho, pursing a degree for Natural Resource Management has decided to look at the impact of caching as his senior thesis. I don't believe his motives are negative, but I cache for the fun of it and this has reduced that for me. Take a look at Summer's Cache GC15D28. He is also observing 50+ other caches in the area. So the next time you feel a tingle up your spine and it's not a grizz or muggle watching, maybe its a concentrated beam of light from the magnifying glass. I'm not really up on the whole Dr. Bleh scenario, but Sancho may be under his influence.
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Post by shadius on Sept 14, 2007 15:22:23 GMT -9
I am sure that his research could be used by the DR to cause problems for the cachers of the world. I fear what that kind of information in Bleh'shands could do.
Let's just make sure we do the unpredictable.
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Post by oleruns on Sept 15, 2007 12:57:38 GMT -9
Doesn’t it nullify the results of the experiment if you let the subjects know that they are part of your research project?
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Post by antoniadodge on Sept 16, 2007 13:22:34 GMT -9
Doesn’t it nullify the results of the experiment if you let the subjects know that they are part of your research project? Only if they then act in a deliberately contrary way. I guess I'm missing why someone doing what appears to be a sociological study would diminish the enjoyment of a game. There are all SORTS of interesting things caching says about the demographic of people who participate. (Like, say, the filial sense you get having potentially never met someone but knowing they've been at the same spot or will be at the exact same spot someday. That's a fascinating basis for community.) For me, looking at the sum of the parts doesn't take meaning away from whole. Plus, I already suspect that most cachers aren't quite right in the noggin so I don't really fear the possible repercussions of the study.
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Post by ladybugkids on Sept 16, 2007 18:04:44 GMT -9
I believe the study is more about the impacts to an area due to geocaching. Some of us have seen first hand the effects of caches placed in sensitive areas and the area looking like scorched earth after cachers have turned the area inside out looking for the cache.
The newest cache on the UAF campus appears to be a tough micro placed in the woods in close proximity to the chancellor's house. The chancellor has come out to meet at least two of the teams while they were looking for the cache. Given the time and effort folks have been putting into looking for the cache, I imagine the forest floor is looking a bit worn. Can't say for certain since I haven't been there, but I've seen how quickly social trails to caches appear in the interior.
I can relate to Sancho's comments on the cache page about the hoops he had to go through to get permission to place a cache on campus. I tried to obtain formal permission on behalf of GeocacheAlaska in the summer of 2006. However, I learned that one had to go through one of at least three land managers (depending on what parcel of university-owned land one wanted to place a cache on) to get approval. I tried unsuccessfully to get a blanket permit for university lands but was told that due to plot studies by individual students working on undergraduate and graduate work, each cache would have to be considered individually and could get the boot if a student happened to choose a plot that included the cache. In addition, in order to use UAF land, one needed to get an on campus sponsor. The UAF Outdoor Center was willing to serve as the on campus sponsor if I'd chosen to take things any further. I asked the land manager I was working with if he had any issues with caches already on UAF land and he didn't, so I chose to keep my existing two UAF caches active until asked to remove them.
However, without explicit permission for additional cache placements, I decided there was plenty of state and federal land around Fairbanks where I could place caches and opted not to pursue additional cache placements on university lands.
The bottom line is that while UAF does not have a policy that explicity excludes geocaching, it does not endorse geocaching, either. The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks, representing one of the major user groups of the UAF trail system, voiced no objection to geocachers as an additional user group since cachers had not been walking on the groomed ski trails. So, as long as geocachers don't give UAF a reason to ban caching by maintaining a low user profile, things should work out okay. That said, in my opinion, it is also the cache hider's accountability to hide a cache with consideration for the impact multiple visits will have on the surrounding environment. The cache in question could be an interesting study by itself of the unintended consequences of a tough hide in the woods within sight of the ultimate land manager for the area.
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Post by antoniadodge on Sept 16, 2007 22:06:11 GMT -9
I believe the study is more about the impacts to an area due to geocaching. I guess SOME people prefer to know all the facts before posting, but I can't be tied down like that. However, I still don't really understand feeling the potential result of this student's study, or even the possibility of being studied, affecting my feelings while I'm caching. Most cachers are conscientious enough, and I kind of like it when something I'm interested in becomes interesting enough to others to begin studying it. But it is possible I'm missing yet another element. I'm still shooting from the hip, so to speak.
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Post by ladybugkids on Sept 17, 2007 5:47:14 GMT -9
One potential downside is that the research gets published and shows that geocaches lead to the creation of new "social" trails to the cache, trampled vegetation, torn moss, and compacted soil. Such a published work, now a matter of public record, combined with experiences by land managers in the lower 48, could be used by Alaskan land managers to ban caching from the lands under their stewardship. That's the potential downside. On the other hand, if the research shows neglible impacts at the majority of caching locations, it could be used as a toem to support geocaching. All depends on what gets reported. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the final product portrays geocaching in a positive light.
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Post by TundraQuad on Sept 17, 2007 6:43:15 GMT -9
TQ Mom finally got to claim the cache yesterday. Tough cache to find. If you really like to search out for high difficulty finds this one is for you.
As for the "study" I'm not sure what direction it will take. However, Sancho has said that even though caching has an impact that impact isn't necessarily negative.
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Post by oleruns on Sept 17, 2007 7:15:25 GMT -9
If there was one placed in a dirty area, it would be a lot cleaner than when the container was placed. - We'll see
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Post by ladybugkids on Sept 17, 2007 8:21:57 GMT -9
If there was one placed in a dirty area, it would be a lot cleaner than when the container was placed. - We'll see Most excellent point...Pioneer Woman has at least two caches that specifically suggest "Cache In Trash Out" and there are several other caches in areas where I've packed out bags worth of flotsam and jetsam.
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Post by antoniadodge on Sept 17, 2007 10:32:02 GMT -9
If there was one placed in a dirty area, it would be a lot cleaner than when the container was placed. - We'll see Most excellent point...Pioneer Woman has at least two caches that specifically suggest "Cache In Trash Out" and there are several other caches in areas where I've packed out backs worth of flotsam and jetsam. Fo' shizzle.
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