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Post by akstafford on Oct 20, 2012 19:37:15 GMT -9
The MatSu Trails & Parks Foundation is hosting a series of community meetings to discuss the future of trails in the Valley. They are looking for input from trail users, which includes us Geocachers. I was able to attend one of the meetings, but I think the more of us that make our voice heard, the better. www.matsutrails.org/2012/10/community-meeting-dates-locations/
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Post by ladybugkids on Oct 21, 2012 8:46:30 GMT -9
Thanks, akstafford:
I'm included the information that went out in an e-mail blast this morning and will publish the link in the November newsletter.
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Post by akstafford on Oct 22, 2012 7:49:48 GMT -9
Thanks LBK... There's wasn't a lot people at the first meeting I attended, so I was able to talk quite a bit about Geocaching.
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Post by ladybugkids on Oct 28, 2012 10:59:47 GMT -9
Onespirit555 is going to attend the Talkeetna Y meeting. She asked for talking points and here's what I came up with for others to use as well:
Introduce yourself!
Introduce GeocacheAlaska! GeocacheAlaska! Inc., is a non-profit organization, 501(C)(3) TAX ID: 27-0153140, representing geocachers statewide. We currently have more than 230 members. The purposes of the GeAK! are to: • Promote geocaching as an exciting, family-oriented activity that increases awareness of parks and trail systems. • Provide opportunities for the geocaching community to enjoy geocaching in the area and to meet and socialize with like-minded geocachers. • Increase awareness of geocaching issues in the area through interaction with other outdoor activity groups, geocaching clubs, and the public. • Educate geocachers on low impact geocaching and promote stewardship of our natural resources. • Educate other outdoor enthusiasts on geocaching. • Represent geocaching interests in public forums and to recreation land managers. • Actively promote the "Cache In Trash Out" (CITO) program to help in the maintenance of parks and trail systems.
Explain Geocaching Geocaching is a technology based activity that involves finding geocaches in locations interesting to geocachers. There are about 5100 geocaches in Alaska and nearly two million geocaches worldwide. At its basic level, geocaching involves using a GPS to locate a container with a log sheet to sign. Larger containers have room for trade items or trackable items. Other cache types, such as EarthCaches and Virtual caches do not have a container, but involve questions the geocacher has to answer to get credit for “finding it.”
Explain specifically what we do for/with Land Managers Geocachers promote stewardship of the land they play the game on and seek to foster land manager relationships. Examples include: • The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Blue Goose GeoTour, a 16-cache educational series about Alaskan wildlife refuges placed in partnership with the Alaska Parks Foundation • The Alaska Department of Transportation (AKDOT) Adopt-a-Highway two mile stretch near Girdwood we clean three times per year • Short notice clean-up event to reopen trails in the Rabbit Creek Greenbelt (Municipality of Anchorage parkland) after the September windstorms • Participation in the BLM National Trails Day Events • Beginning geocaching clinics taught for the Municipality of Anchorage and Anchorage Parks locations (we would do the same for MatSu if interested) • Blanket geocaching permits with Alaska State Parks • Open caching policy with the Municipalities of Anchorage and Fairbanks
Come up for air and respond to questions.
You may want to take an example geocache or two complete with log book, geocoin/TB, etc. to the meeting as props.
Have fun!
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Post by akstafford on Nov 1, 2012 12:44:43 GMT -9
I also attended the separate Crevasse Moraine Trails meeting. The landfill is expanding into preplanned areas that some of the trails have been established on. The borough is going to be establishing new trails to the east in the France Road area and they are looking for input. This was a larger meeting and well attended. I did get to mention geocaching and many in the crowd responded favorably. The biggest take away from this meeting was CO's that have caches near the trail head are going to have to eventually move their caches. I think I figured theres about 20 to 30 caches that will be affected. There's a follow up meeting on the CMT area on November 14th at 6:30 at the Borough Animal Facility next to the landfill.
I've also been attending the MatSu Greenbelt Trails meeting. This is the group that put up the trail head signs and directional signage through the MatSu Greenbelt Trails.
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Post by NorthWes on Nov 5, 2012 6:26:11 GMT -9
Appreciate your participation in these meetings, akstafford. We're an 'invisible user group' unless someone speaks up for our cause.
I make the signs for the Valley Hikers & Mtn Bikers, the umbrella group who's spearheaded the trail signage program out there on the Crevasse-Moraine Trail System under Dot Helm's leadership. She's pleased there's at least one user group who's going to have immediate benefit from inclusion of GPS coordinates on some of the signs (by example, ALL signposts on the BLM Campbell Tract have GPS coordinates, to help trail users identify their location in the event of an emergency or a trail condition which needs reporting).
Keep up the good work!
Wes
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