From URL: http://www.oregongeocaching.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=2077&sid=d67b14dd35132295cb07c670136cc1d8#p2077

This document is a work in progress. The guidelines presented here are not enforced by cogeo.org or the site administration of cogeo.org. If you find a cache in violation of the policies of the appropriate land management agency, please contact the cache owner directly.

General Guidelines
Please become familiar with the guidelines at http://www.geocaching.com prior to placement of any geocaches.

• Find out who owns or manages the land before you place a cache, and get their permission first!
• Consider that geocachers might take shortcuts. Are there obvious shortcuts that could damage the area?

Bend Metro Park and Recreation District
No restrictions although we should avoid riparian areas next to the Deschutes River and Tumalo Creek. (bigeddy)

Newberry National Volcanic Monument
The monument is administered by the Deschutes National Forest as a multi-use recreation area and is not restricted like a wilderness. I was told that geocaches are generally permitted. In special areas like Lava River Cave, Lava Cast Forest and Lava Butte we should call the Visitor Center for permission or just avoid the areas. (bigeddy)

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Public Lands
The BLM supports geocaching on most of the land it administers except for specific areas that have been identified as sensitive (such as archaeological sites, caves, stock and wildlife waterers, and endangered species habitat). Its policies are mostly contained in area management plans. For much of Central Oregon the Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan provides guidance. Many BLM Special Management Areas have restrictions including Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), Research Natural Areas (RNA), Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR), Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) and caves. Of special interest to us are the Badlands WSA (17 cache limit) and Steelhead Falls WSA (3 cache limit).

Note that the Plan defines geocaching as "leaving any items on BLM administered lands for the purposes of posting or advertising the approximate location of those items for others to find." So, the policy by definition includes TerraCaches, letterboxes and similar physical containers but not virtual caches. The Plan implies that if either WSA is designated as a wilderness then caches will be banned.

Another document of interest is this March 2005 memo from the BLM regarding geocaching that expired in 2006 but is the last known general policy and appears to still be in use.

GovBigDawg (aka Gavin Hoban, BLM Recreation Planner) also posts on a regular basis with information regarding seasonal closures of various BLM areas. Click here for a list of his posts.

State Parks
The following information is directly from central oregon state parks management (thanks to logscaler):

• None in/on Pilot Butte State Park in Bend, Oregon;
• None in Fort Rock State Park in Fort Rock, Oregon;
• Any placed in the “Fee” parks they would like to know about as certain areas are out and they would like some input as for placement;
• As always, NO DIGGING;
• La Pine State parks has 9 miles of trails and it is open for caching;
• Cline Falls State Park is open for caching;
• Undeveloped State Parks grounds are open for caching;
• Certain areas are monitored and security measures are in place;
• Where Park grounds are close to private property, Please indicate a parking spot so as not to have cachers crossing onto private grounds;
• Other issues will be dealt with on a one on one basis as the occur;

Wilderness Areas
The following information is from the local Forest Service wilderness ranger, for the South Sister area (thanks to bigeddy):

Short version: No physical caches in the wilderness

POS Geocaching and Letterboxing Policy
June 10, 2013

The City of Eugene’s system of parks and natural areas is intended to provide visitors with safe and enjoyable recreational opportunities. The Parks and Open Space division (POS) actively manages these areas for multiple objectives including recreational use, aesthetic beauty, and protection and restoration of natural resources. The policy outlined herein establishes procedures to facilitate and manage geocaching and letterboxing activities on City of Eugene POS property. This policy applies to both geocaching and letterboxing.

The purpose of this policy is to protect park resources and the safety of all visitors and City staff, while providing reasonable opportunities for geocaching on Eugene public park land.

General Guidelines

• Geocaches may be located only in POS-managed properties that are listed in Appendix A:
• If a specific park or natural area is not listed in Appendix A, placing a geocache at that site is prohibited. See Eugene’s Parks and Open Space Map for park locations. http://eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4747
• A park or natural area may be excluded from the list of approved geocaching sites for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Lack of developed areas and/or lack of maintained trails. (2) Lack of safe and legal parking in proximity to the park or natural area. (3) The presence of sensitive cultural and/or natural resources.
• A City permit is not required to place a geocache, but all caches must be registered on www.geocaching.com. Any unregistered geocaches will be considered abandoned property and may be removed without notification.
• Caches shall comply with all guidelines established by geocaching.com.
• All caches on POS-managed lands shall be at least 528 ft. apart from another cache located in the same park or natural area with a maximum of 12 caches per park.
• Each individual may place only one cache per park or natural area.

Geocache Placement

• Geocaches are only allowed within 30” of the following: the tread of a maintained path or trail, other hardscape features such as patios or parking lots, or mowed lawn areas. Leaving the trail, hardscape or mowed lawn area to place or retrieve a geocache is not permitted. Unofficial footpaths or wildlife trails that are not signed or identified on park maps are not considered maintained trails. Islands not reachable via a developed path are not acceptable geocache locations.
• Geocaches are also prohibited within 25 feet of any children’s play area.
• Geocachers must “leave no trace”. This means not damaging the ground or vegetation while placing or locating a cache and, when placing a geocache, considering potential damage that may result from other geocachers searching for or accessing the cache location.
• POS retains the right to remove, or have removed, any cache that is considered to be in an inappropriate location, causes undo damage to natural, physical, or cultural resources, or for other reasons consistent with the mission and management principals of POS.
• Caches may only be placed in safe locations that do not pose undue risk to park visitors. Geocachers must review the topography of the location where the cache is to be placed and minimize the potential safety risks to the visitors trying to find the cache.
• Geocaches and geocachers shall comply with all City of Eugene Park and Open Space rules, which can be found at http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3737 Unless otherwise noted, all parks and natural areas are closed between the hours of 11:00 pm and 6:00 am.

Prohibited Activities

• Geocaches may not be attached to any constructed or fabricated park amenity in such a manner as to damage the object or impede proper use. The physical placement or attachment of caches to any buildings or sheds is prohibited. Altering signs, fences, posts, trails, trail markers or buildings is prohibited. Attaching a small magnetic geocache to the back side of an interpretive sign is acceptable.
• Geocaches shall not be placed in areas showing recent utilization by wildlife such as birdhouses, nests, or animal dens.
• Offensive, illegal, perishable, or dangerous items are not allowed in any cache. All items placed in caches shall comply with the policies of geocaching.com.
• Night caching, earth caching, and Munzee placement on POS property are prohibited. Cache owners shall include wording stating the acceptable caching hours (within stated park hours) on their cache pages.

Cache Containers and Contents

• All caches placed after June 1, 2013 shall be in see-through, waterproof (or sealable) containers that are no greater than 9”L x 6”W x 3”H. All caches shall be permanently labeled on the container’s exterior with the word “geocache” and the registered geocache “GC” code from geocaching.com in minimum 3/16” font.
• Use of ammo cans and pipe-shaped containers is prohibited.
• Caches which promote commercial, political, religious or other social agendas are not allowed.
• Caches may contain only a logbook in which to record visits; a description of geocaching; and non-perishable, family-friendly items.
• Caches that have not been maintained will be considered abandoned and will be removed and discarded.
• POS is not responsible for any damage to, or loss of, geocaches or equipment. POS will dispose of any removed cache if unable to contact the owner of the cache to remove or pick up the items within five days.

Eugene Parks and Open Space Contact Information

For questions about geocaching on City of Eugene Parks and Open Space property, please call: 541-6824800.

Parks where Geocaching is allowed

See Eugene’s Parks and Open Space Map for park locations. http://eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4747

Acorn Park
Alton Baker Park
Amazon Creek (Fern Ridge Bike Path Corridor)
Amazon Creek Levees Greenhill to Fern Ridge
Amazon Headwaters
Amazon Park
Amazon Parkway (Hilyard- Martin)
Arrowhead Park
Ascot Park
Awbrey Park
Bailey Hill Natural Area
Berkeley Park
Bethel Community Park
Blanton Ridge Natural Area
Bloomberg Natural Area
Bond Lane Park
Bramblewood Park
Brewer Park
Candlelight Park
Charnel Mulligan Park
Chase Commons Park
Country Lane Park
Creekside Park
Crescent Park
Crest Heights Natural Area
Delta Ponds Natural Area
Edgewood Natural Area
Fairmount Park
Ferndale Park
Filbert Meadows Park
Frank Kinney Park
Friendly Park
Garfield Park
Gilbert Park
Gilham Park
Gillespie Butte Natural Area
Gimpl Ridge Natural Area
Glen Oak Natural Area
Golden Gardens Park
Grasshopper Meadow Park
Gudukut Wetland Area
Hawkins Heights Natural Area
Hendricks Park
Hilyard Community Center
Irwin Park
Jefferson Park
Kincaid Park
Lafferty Park
Lark Park
Laurel Hill Valley Park
Laurelwood Natural Area (golf course area off limits)
Lincoln School Park
Lone Oak Park
Mangan Park
Marche Chase Park
Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Maurie Jacobs Park
Melvin Miller Natural Area
Milton Park
Monroe Park
Mt. Baldy Natural Area
Murray Hill Natural Area
North Beltline Floodway
Oakmont Park
Owen Rose Garden Park
Petersen Park
Prefontaine Memorial Site
Rasor Park
Ribbon Trail Natural Area
Richardson Bridge
Roosevelt Waterway Corridor (Maple-Beltline)
Rosetta Place Park
Ruby Park
Santa Clara Community Park Site
Scobert Gardens Park
Shadow Wood Park
Shasta Ballfields
Sheldon Community Center
Sheldon Pool
Sheldon Sports Park
Skinner Butte Natural Area
Skyview Park
Sladden Park
Sorrel Way Natural Area
Spencer Butte Park Natural Area
State Street Park
Striker Field Park
Tandy Turn Park
Terra Linda Park
Trainsong Park
Tugman Park
University Park
Videra Park
Walnut Grove Park
Washburne Park
Washington Park
Washington/Jefferson Park
Wayne Morse Family Farm Park
Wendover Park
West University Park
Westmoreland Park
Wild Iris Ridge Natural Area
Willakenzie Park
Willamette East Bank Park
Willamette West Bank Park
Willis Park