I just got the following e-mail this afternoon you should definitely be aware of:

Quote

The attached permit application is for "caches" but the guidelines for
letterboxes would be the same. No one may "hide" an item on Metro
Nashville government park property without permission. The geocaching
community in Nashville came to the parks department for permission and
went through a proposal and approval process. I take the applications
and keep the paperwork on file for safety and security. A volunteer in
the geocache community routinely checks the cache sites for the parks
department for location accuracy, park and people safety, and container
approval and reports back to me. Each approved cache has a Metro permit
affixed to it so Park Police know it is safe.

Please post the guidleines for hiding a "cache" or box in the Metro
Parks system.

Thank you,

Traci Bennett-Hobek
Outdoor Recreation Specialist
Metro Parks and Recreation, Nashville, TN

I've posted the document Traci sent to http://www.atlasquest.com/images/misc/nashvillepermitapp.doc

I'm just the messenger here--if you have any questions or comments, you can e-mail Traci--e-mail address is in the document.

Please let all letterboxers in the Nashville area know about this. Apparently, they have pulled letterboxes in the past for not following the permit system. *nodding*

-- Ryan

I understand the frustration; I submitted applications for my Murfreesboro sites, and had to pull those boxes until I hear. But the good news was the lady here with the parks dept. was very pleasant and encouraging, so maybe you will have a similar experience there.

P. Banks

Yes, say goodbye to Hen Fruit. I'll have to go get them this week, probably Tuesday. VERY sad face--my first and only traditional plants.

::sigh::
Moon Seeker

Wow. You know all the cool inside stuff!

Thanks, DS!
Moon Seeker (in Nashville)

I just got the following message you should all be aware of:

Quote

Dear Friends -

We in TN State Parks have a strict policy concerning off-trail land use - including both letterboxing and geocaching. I recently contacted the folks at letterboxing.com, and wished to share this information with you as well. If anyone wishes to place a letterbox in any state park, they must first follow the proper permit procedure. Otherwise, we will have to remove the letterbox from the park.

One user has recently placed two unauthorized boxes....Please remove these from your files. They have already been removed from the letterboxing.com site.

I have already contacted the owner of the boxes, and informed him/her of the need to follow proper permit procedure.

Thank you for your time and attention

So it looks like the state parks there in Tennessee are after you as well besides the Nashville letterboxing police. Sorry about that. As for the proper permit procedure--he hasn't given me any information about that. If anyone knows it, could you share it with the rest of the letterboxers in your state? =)

-- Ryan

This is such bad timing as we have plans to have a kid-free letterboxing weekend in TN in November. I'm so sad.

Amyrica

Sounds like a job for... Captain Mystery Clue and his sexy sidekick, WOMan!!

;-P

Do you know who the user is that the gentleman speaks of? ::is it me?::

Moon Seeker, who hopes she can get to the pitifully few she planted before they are uprooted...

I'm betting he's talking about the Redwalls. Did those ever get pulled when the note got sent to SWP a few months ago? I never did go find them. Just like yours Moon Seeker.

DS, did you get all your Dude's Duds?

Quote

Do you know who the user is that the gentleman speaks of? ::is it me?::

No, it's not you. =) But he says he contacted the person whose boxes he pulled, so the person ought to know about it. I just figured the rest of you should be aware of the permit system for the state parks there.

-- Ryan

I'm still attempting to decipher their rules. Thanks for keeping us up to date, GT. You sure stay on top of a lot of things all at the same time...
Moon Seeker

Hey guys. Yes, the bulk of the Redwalls did get pulled. I was with She Who Plants the day she pulled what wasn't missing of them.

No, I have not been contacted. *sigh* I have never planted in a National park - I knew better - that they were off limits. The only one at risk there is DS.

I have never planted in a state park. She Who Plants has planted many in state parks though, so if you have not found those in Cedars of Lebanon, Longhunter, the Bicentinnial Mall (i.e. the parthanon), or Montgomery Bell GO NOW. Radnor Lake has all been pulled. Also in danger down the I-40 corridor are Burgess Falls and Cumberland Mountain. Chattanooga looks pretty safe. I don't think any are planted on state parks there.

As for my metro area boxes, Moon will be pulling them. I am switching over ownership of all of them to her. She graciously offered to replant them somewhere outside of Davidson County. If you are curious, here is the Davidson County park list (which includes metro Nashville parks) http://www.nashville.gov/parks/parks.htm

Yes, this is sad news indeed. Where is there left to plant? They have taken almost all parks and greenways from the Nashville area. Time to figure out those permits, or just start boxing somewhere else.

Liz

Perhaps it was the 4 Little Piggies that got contacted? I'm going to have to send out a bunch of emails to get status checks before I head that way. GRRRRRR.

Amyrica

We haven't been contacted about our 2 SP boxes, but neither has been logged as found either. I doubt it is them, though. If it is them, they are 2 hours away. The remainder of ours are local parks.

P. Banks

Oh goodie! Yours are on my list to find in November. They'll definitely have visitors if they're still there.

A

I have been off line for a while. What is going on?? Is Tenn. stopping our fun and for what reason?

I went there on vacation over the summer and went looking for 13 letter boxes. Two were missing and one I never was able to travel in that direction to even find. I even laced some hitchikers in some of those letterboxes in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Can you please email me at tincher5@earthlink.net and let me know what is going on and if you happen to have found any of my hitchikers?

Thanks.

I'm thinking more mystery boxes and more obscure clues may be in order too. I wrote to one place to ask about their permit requests, and haven't heard a word (but I asked about permits for GCs because I didn't want to mention letterboxes and cause them to research them and pull more boxes!). I was wondering about areas that are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Does anybody know how strict they are?

P. Banks

First Nashville posted that they were going to be removing all unpermitted letterboxes from their park system, and now the state parks are apparently sounding a similar alarm.

You can create mystery boxes and all that, but if you want your boxes to live long and prosper, I'd still suggest only planting boxes where they're actually allowed. The Nashville authorities seem pretty strict about limiting the number of boxes, and I e-mailed the TN state parks asking about their permit system. It might be a rather painless experience--I don't know. But I'll let you know if and when I hear anything about it. =)

I can't imagine there's not plenty of other places to plant boxes, though. National forests? County parks? My hometown of San Luis Obispo used to have what seemed like a couple of dozen boxes hidden all over the downtown area. (Most have since gone missing, but some keep ticking after being there for several years now.) Trying to plant boxes illegally is going to ruffle their feathers even more if they find out about it.

-- Ryan

I know, I know... frustration more than plans speaking.

'Tis a shame... but why doesn't everyone look on the bright side? Just apply for a permit. Yes, its an added pain in the bootie, but sometimes it works out for the best. I know of some private parks that will add a blurb in their brochure about lbing, or even hand out an info sheet when someone inquires about lbing. They don't give out clues, just the info on where to find them (websites). More people will get involved and then there will be more boxes, and more people to gather with!

I e-mailed the guy at the state parks who first wrote about the boxes he pulled about what the "proper" permit system was, and got this as a response:

Quote

Thank you for your interest in Tennessee State Parks. Basically, activities (letterboxes, geocaches, etc.) can take place on state park lands but they must be approved by the Park Manager. Their authority to approve such events, however, is guided by a major criterion: no organized event can take participants off designated trails. The opportunity to implement various organized events in Tennessee State Parks will be in commons areas like playgrounds, picnic areas, play fields, hard surfaced areas and the like. Even in these instances, Park Managers or their designees must approve the site for each activity.

This may seem a little extreme, but we receive a plethora of requests each year from groups and individuals wanting to conduct adventure races, map and compass events, geocaching, cross-country bike races, atv rallies, and many other activities. When we look beyond the realm of commons areas and into deep woods or more remote places which are set aside for their intrinsic values, we feel that our resource protection effort is compromised.

Which isn't especially useful, except to say that the Park Manager is in charge of approving letterboxes. *shrug*

-- Ryan

Thanks for your efforts Ryan. Not looking too hopeful. *sigh*

Liz

It was me! I recieved a relatively polite email requesting that I remove the boxes within 16 days. I guess I have about 9 days left. I live some distance away and probably won't make it down there to retrieve them. If any locals in the Kingsport area want to retrieve them and replant or salvage the components please contact me.

Quote

If any locals in the Kingsport area want to retrieve them and replant or salvage the components please contact me.

I don't live in that area but it is only about and hour 30 minutes from me...
I am wondering how far LiLY is from there...
anyone heard from here or Penguin Patrol lately???

Don't worry. I'm still here. Just up in Ohio now. Moon Seeker has adopted my boxes and will be pulling what needs to be pulled accordingly. Not sure about Lily. You could send her an AQ mail.

I think though Dixie, that if you are only 30 minutes away, you would probably be the best candidate to pull them. Maybe there is somewhere else in the same city that they can be replanted at?

Good luck either way!

Liz

oh...sorry, it's 1 hour and 30 minutes from there...

I'm 2 hours away and have no time this month. I'm booked solid.....hence the reason why Knoxville isn't getting any more boxes yet.

How sad. I'm relatively new to lb's but every sp and np I've visited has received a donation from us.

Received an email from a terracaching sponsor the boxing/caching in Tennessee Cemeteries is very much against the law.

Quote

"It has come to my attention that caching in TN cemeteries constitutes a crime (Title 46-2-105). As a class E felony both hider and hunter could be subject to 6 years imprisonment. "

Sounds pretty serious, and a good thing to avoid.

P. Banks of 4LP