In case you do not know what "Park Directive 3220" is, read this:
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GEOCACHING PROCEDURES
ARKANSAS STATE PARKS AND MUSEUMS
CACHE PERMITS:
A. Placement of a cache on Department property must be secured with a permit.
B. The person applying for a permit must provide a valid address, telephone number, email address, vehicle license number and the website address on which the cache will be posted.
C. The exact location of the cache must be pre-approved by the Park Superintendent/ Museum Director, whose main concern will be public safety and the prevention of undesirable impacts to natural and cultural resources.
D. The exact cache location, including GPS coordinates, must be stated on the permit.
E. All permits will be in effect for a period of four (4) months. The exact starting and ending dates will be recorded on the permit.
Note: If, during the four (4) month effective period of a permit, a permit holder wants to change the location of the cache, a new permit must be issued and the effective permit cancelled.
F. Upon expiration of a permit, the permit holder is responsible for removing the cache and for removing the cache location from all websites and any information source.
G. If the permit holder fails to remove the cache, it will be removed by park staff and held for ten (10) days, after which staff will dispose of the cache. Confiscation and disposal by park staff will be recorded in an incident report.
CACHE CONTAINERS AND CONTENTS:
A. Cache containers must be non-breakable, transparent and have some form of latch or other closing mechanism to prohibit content exposure to wildlife.
B. Caches may not contain inappropriate or dangerous items. Such items include, but are not limited to, food, mediations, personal/hygiene products, pornography, weapons, of any type, etc. Log books are encouraged in Arkansas State Parks/ Museums, over exchange items.
C. All caches are subject to random inspection by Park Superintendents and Museum Directors. Park staff has the authority to immediately remove any item held in a cache deemed unacceptable.
CACHE LOCATIONS:
A. Physical caches are prohibited inside any state park/museum facility or structure.
B. The location of a cache must be pre-approved by the Park Superintendent or Museum Director.
C. Caches may not be placed in locations that may lead to the creation of spur trails.
D. Caches may not be buried, nor may vegetation or stones be disturbed to pace a cache.
E. Caches may not be placed in dangerous, inappropriate, or protected areas and habitats, on cliffs, underground, or underwater.
F. Metal detectors may not be used in cache searches.
COMPLIANCE:
A. Failure to comply with park / museum guidelines will result in the revocation of effective geocaching permits. Continued failure to comply with these guidelines will prevent the issuance of any further geocaching permits to the non-compliant group or individual.
B. If geocaching activities as a whole are found to have a negative impact on park resources or if safety becomes an issue in geocache searches, the Park Superintendent / Museum Director may ban geocaching from certain areas or from the entire park / museum.
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Currently there is no official policy that allows geocaching in Arkansas State Parks. The meeting on January 16 will be held to discuss this new directive. It will be at the Arkansas Hospitality Association, 603 Pulaski Street, Little Rock, AR.
Many geocachers have sent letters with there concerns about this policy to Director of Arkansas State Parks, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201. As far as I know, there are only a few cachers who will actually be at the meeting. Hopefully this event cache will create some more publicity for the meeting.
Post a note if you intend to be there, and if you are there, be sure to log this as a find! Since I live in Joplin MO, I won't be able to make it there, so I was hoping some local cachers could attend the meeting and voice there opinions.