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Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Aug 23, 2018 7:06am
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OK, what's the lowdown on planting in FL. Hoping that the moving company's going to get my letterboxing stuff (including stamps) down here in the next two months, and I have at least 70 stamps to plant. Many are series of 7 or more.

How do I go about this. Things here seem a lot more difficult than in CT.....

BB
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964279 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 23, 2018 9:30am
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Hi Bungalow Boxer,
I saw your post and thought I would respond. First, sorry I won't be able to get this month's BoM. I visit my Dad in Orlando frequently--he needs help on occasion. Sometimes I can get away and this month I couldn't. Maybe next month and the month after that, etc.

Having boxed in both Connecticut and Florida, things are way different. For starters, there aren't as many boxers. A lot of people visit Orlando and they may drop off quickie letterboxes that probably may or may not last long. And I appreciate every one!

Also, Florida is more spread out and doesn't have all the beautiful forested parks that Connecticut has. There are some, but they are in the middle of nowhere and far away to get to. Then there is the weather: hot, hot, and more hot. And humid. And hurricanes.

That said, I hope you do a lot of planting! I am looking forward to finding all your series and singles and hope to plant some series of my own in the Orlando area.

Happy trails,
Mosaic Butterfly
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964279 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 23, 2018 10:19pm
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Rule #1: In Florida, never never never hide a box in a dead or fallen tree or a stump. This kinda hide may be popular up north, but here in Florida a log or stump will completely disappear into a pile of loose soil within a year or two, often burying your box in the process.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964279 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 24, 2018 7:00am
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I have found that places that seem ideal have already been taken, or will be taken over by geotrashers. Find the most awesome spot near something you love, and want other people to visit, and then use that as the starting point in your clues, moving your box a good distance away. I had to learn this one the hard way, having lost several boxes to those that hunt by phone.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964279 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 24, 2018 12:17pm
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Hiding a box "Florida style" means hidden under a palmetto bush. Those things lay out fan-shaped leaves, and with time they lay out more leaves, providing reliable cover. And they're just scratchy enough that noxers will go around rather than push through. You can tuck a box the size of a breadbox under there and nobody will ever accidentally see it. The problem is, there's usually not just one palmetto bush but rather a wide area full of them, so you must be careful to describe carefully where to find the box. Usually there are trees amongst the palmettos, so look for a distinctive tree and describe how to locate the box based on that.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964344 by Kirbert
Aug 25, 2018 6:42pm
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One wonderful thing about Florida is that the state parks allow letterboxing. They even have a link to it on the webpage.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964428 by KatieKat
Aug 25, 2018 8:25pm
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I'm sorry KatieKat, that is just not true.

But if it makes you feel any better you are not the first person to think so.

Per the Florida State Park website, I have cut and pasted the following:

"If you are planning to hide a letterbox in a Florida State Park, contact the park manager and ask permission for the location you are considering. Describe the location, how you intend to hide it (digging is not allowed) and provide a description of the container. The park manager will consider the site attributes and give verbal permission for you to hide the letterbox in the location. Archaeological, ecological and historical areas are typically off limits. Also consider frequent flooding, fire frequency, animal habitat, etc. before requesting permission.
After you have verbal permission from the state park manager, you can place your letterbox."

Good luck with that.

It has been my personal experience that I have not been allowed except once to place a letterbox in a Florida State Park. The last park I asked permission to place a box in was St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park and was told no, absolutely not, no way jose, not in a million frickin years.
Let me add that I wanted to place the box indoors in the visitor center. Didn't matter.
Ranger Tracey was horrified at the idea of a letterbox in their park, period.
It is a preserve and they are very protective of the fragile flora there.
Ok, so that was a worse case scenario, but a true story none the less. I've only asked to place a letterbox in I think 5 or 6 of our State Parks? All but 1 have said no.

On an upside these Florida State Parks were very welcoming when it came to hosting letterboxing events over the past few years...
Little Talbot Island State Park,
Anastasia State Park,
Lake Louisa State Park,
Oleta River State Park
However they would not allow any permanent plants and all the stamps were to be removed after the event was over.

Anecdotal story, about 2 years ago, right after Hurricane Matthew I was rooting through the upturned mass of trees about 100 yards away from what I thought to be a closed Visitor Center (Fort Mose Historic State Park) and found my prize! About 2 minutes later I'm stamping in and had the bejezzus scared out of me when the ranger silently came up behind me and cheerfully sang out "Hey whatcha doing?" After I finished peeing my pants, I straight up told the truth. Good thing too. Whole dang thing was caught on camera and even though visitor center was closed, there was still staff who observed my suspicious activity. The good news was the ranger LOVED the stamp and the whole idea of letterboxing, phew!

All this to say; there is no absolute to placing boxes in Florida State Parks. Some may let you, some may not.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964428 by KatieKat
Aug 26, 2018 7:53am
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I'm finding that all geocaches and letterboxes need to be pre-approved by the powers that be. Whether that be Fish and Wildlife or State Parks. It's certainly sad, since I have like 100 stamps to plant. Some are series that are 10 stamps long.

BB
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964454 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 26, 2018 11:04am
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With geocaches, that's a problem. With letterboxes, not so much.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964431 by Three FLAmigo's
Aug 26, 2018 12:35pm
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Wow . thank you Three Flamingo's. I just looked at the link I had, and then the one you listed. Complete opposites. thank you for giving me the heads up.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964466 by Kirbert
Aug 26, 2018 5:20pm
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Well many places only allow one stamp per trail/area. 😢
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964454 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 26, 2018 7:14pm
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Is just different here that's all and I wouldn't worry about it. As you start to visit and hike around the state, excellent hiding spots will reveal themselves to you!
Because I work for our county park and rec is easy for me to ask permission and frankly just second nature to do so.
But we don't ask permission for every single box either. I'm not saying disregard FL state park planting rules but some of the rules are plain common sense. Fragile ecosystems, environmental impact, historical importance.
Basically the same rules you have to consider in CT.
When we place a box without permission the biggest perimeter is, will this plastic box end up being trash in the woods? As long as I feel at least 99% sure that it wont, we plant. Nothing is a 100% given. But we have learned from our mistakes and try our best to be conscientious planters.
Someone here once said, "You can't swing a dead cat in Connecticut without hitting a letterbox!".
It's true!
Boxes are fewer and further in between in Florida and we don't have as many active boxers either but you will adapt. Less also makes our boxes here more memorable and special.
I'm super excited to have you in Florida and with any kind of luck, (subtle hint) you will plant in my neck of the woods and host some events!!!
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964469 by KatieKat
Aug 26, 2018 7:25pm
Thread (disabled) Board
No worries girl.
Park Rangers & Administrators change. And often times the rules change too, what is today may not be tomorrow.
We just go with the flow!
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964279 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 27, 2018 1:26pm
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One other thing to remember: We have hurricanes here. If your box is hidden less than 20 feet above the level of the nearest waterway, it's liable to be washed out to sea -- even from the middle of the state. And many of our parks happen to occupy such low-lying land, as it's unwise to build houses on it.

If there's any doubt at all, I usually tie my boxes down with string. The string often deteriorates in a few years, but while it lasts it not only helps prevent the box from floating away, it also seems to help prevent the box from being carried away by someone picking up litter.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964501 by Three FLAmigo's
Aug 27, 2018 1:31pm
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Three Flamigos: Really enjoyed finding your boxes recently. I keep forgetting to log the finds, but we had a great day searching the out. The recent move to Florida has me tied up doing other things, but soon will start working on all the boxes to find here surrounding Orlando.
Re: Planting in FL
Board: State: Florida
Reply to: #964454 by Bungalow Boxer
Aug 27, 2018 1:35pm
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That just made me giddy knowing that I have 100 new boxes in my future... Yayyyyyyy. Getting caught up on all the move things and ready to focus on the letterboxing things... hehehe.