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City of Arlington - Parks - Geoaching NOT banned - please read


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Good morning everyone...

 

I work for the City of Arlington's Parks and Recreation Department. Our department heads are aware of the inaccurate information depicted in this weekend's Star Telegram. We have received several emails from citizens voicing their concerns. I myself along with my family and several friends have been geocachers since 2003.

 

I am attaching an email that our Assistant Director, Matt Young, is sending to all those who have been mislead by the article. I will also post this in a new thread to make sure all of those individuals who live in Arlington and enjoy our many parks know that they are still, as always, welcome to geocache in the City of Arlington.

 

Here is Matt's letter.....

 

My name is Matt Young and I am an Assistant Director with the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department. As you can imagine, we have received numerous emails about yesterday's article on our new park ordinances. Unfortunately, Ms. Schrock was incorrect by stating that geocaching was prohibited in our parks. This is not the case.

 

Section 4.08 - Use of Metal Detectors - states "It shall be unlawful for any person to use or operate a metal detector in a City park, except by permit from the Director." While writing the article, Ms. Schrock visited with staff about the ordinance and geocaching was discussed.

 

However, the City of Arlington does not plan on prohibiting geocaching in our parks in any way. While we have had a few groups damage park property in the past, we understand that 99% of the time we do not even know that geocachers have even visited our parks. This ordinance is simply aimed at trying to limit destruction of park property, not negatively impact the recreational activities of our patrons.

 

I want to apologize for the erroneous information in the article, and thank you for taking the time to write about your concerns. If you have any other questions or concerns with the new ordinances or our park system in general, please feel to contact me directly.

 

Sincerely,

 

Matt Young

Assistant Director - Park Operations

City of Arlington, Texas

(817) 459-5486

 

"Working Together to Make Arlington Better"

 

Thanks everyone. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Jennifer

jennifer.chadwell@arlingtontx.gov

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But I read it on the internet and it was in the newspaper. Therefore it MUST be true. :laughing:

 

But seriously Thanks for the quick and proactive reply to our forums Matt and Jennifer. I had a blast caching in your parks when I visited your area last year for Geowoodstock 4 and I am very glad to hear that the reporter got it wrong.

 

PS I really hope everyone who sent a 'WTF email' is now sending a "TY very much for allowing us to cache in your parks" email now.

Edited by wimseyguy
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But I read it on the internet and it was in the newspaper. Therefore it MUST be true. :laughing:

 

But seriously Thanks for the quick and proactive reply to our forums Matt and Jennifer. I had a blast caching in your parks when I visited your area last year for Geowoodstock 4 and I am very glad to hear that the reporter got it wrong.

 

Glad to hear you had fun here. Not sure if you had an opportunity to cache in River Legacy Park but with our newly added Metrovest addition there are MANY opportunities in this great park. My family and I are still stomped on one cache hidden by, what we believe, is the Living Science Center (we think it's in the creek somewhere) but we'll find it one day. :o

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Got a typical response from the reporter with her NOT taking any of the blame. I responded by asking her to do an article on Geocaching.

 

I have received several responses from readers about this mistake. It will be corrected in tomorrow’s paper. Thank you for the feedback.

Susan Schrock

Star-Telegram

Edited by txoilgas
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Got a typical response from the reporter with her NOT taking any of the blame. I responded by asking her to do an article on Geocaching.

 

I have received several responses from readers about this mistake. It will be corrected in tomorrow’s paper. Thank you for the feedback.

Susan Schrock

Star-Telegram

I got the exact same response. I hope she's hasn't cleared a space on her mantle for that Reporter of the Year award. :D

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I will also post this in a new thread to make sure all of those individuals who live in Arlington and enjoy our many parks know that they are still, as always, welcome to geocache in the City of Arlington.

Thank you for your post and for your park system's support of geocaching. I wanted to comment about the portion I quoted above. Remember, as illustrated by GeoWoodstock last year, that GeoTourism is becoming a very popular activity. It's not just the residents of Arlington who enjoy caching in your parks.

 

Since discovering geocaching in 2002, *all* of my vacations have included geocaching, and most have had geocaching as their central focus. In my travels I've tried to make an effort to visit destinations that are supportive of our game. Last month I drove more than 100 miles to attend an event cache being hosted by a Parks Department, because I was worried that attendance might be low. And later in the month, during my GeoVacation in Washington and Oregon, I did not visit any of the National Parks but instead focused on State Parks and National Forests where cachers are welcome.

 

Areas that are supportive of geocaching are the places that get my tourist dollars, at the local restaurants, motels, convenience stores, gas stations and so forth.

 

I have not yet added Texas to my list of states where I've gone geocaching. When I do, Arlington will be near the top of the list as a possible destination.

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Can't use a metal detector? I'm sure there is a good reason for that ordinance.

People with metal detectors tend to dig holes to find the item of interest. Some folks, not all of them but some of them do not repair the holes once created, This is generally not a good thing.

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