National Wildlife Refuges

All areas within the boundaries of all National Wildlife Refuge areas located in Oregon are off limits to all geocaches and geocaching activities.

Maps of these areas (for the entire US System) may be found here:  https://gis-fws.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/fws::fws-national-realty-tracts-simplified/about

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Montana State Parks

Montana State Parks require a verified permit from the respective park manager.  The completed permit must be emailed to the Reviewer and/or a copy is to be provided in the Note to the Reviewer at the time the cache is submitted for review.

National Park Service Lands

Properties operated by the National Park Service do not allow physical geocaches. This all parks, monuments, and all areas managed and operated by the National Park Service.

Native American Lands

Geocaching is allowed on Native Lands per the following conditions:

• Anyone placing or seeking a cache on Native Lands must obtain a tribal recreational permit.  This permit should be kept on one's person when caching on these lands.
• No permit needed if cache is within a public park in town
• No permit needed if cache is along along an established county or state road ROW (maintained by State or county DOT)

National Wildlife Refuges

All areas within the boundaries of all National Wildlife Refuge areas located in Montana are off limits to all geocaches and geocaching activities.

Maps of these areas (for the entire US System) may be found here:  https://gis-fws.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/fws::fws-national-realty-tracts-simplified/about

Army Corps of Engineer managed properties

Geocaching is allowed on CoE managed property but require are subject to specific permitting processes prior to placement.

BBWA Canal (Billings)

Placement of caches along the BBWA Canal in Billings is not allowed.  Where there is a public walking / biking trail along the canal, a cache may be placed.  However, the cache must be on the far side of the path from the canal.

Cemeteries

At this time there is no prohibition concerning geocaching within cemeteries in the state of Montana. There are some municipal cemeteries that specifically ban any recreational activities within the cemetery grounds.  It is the cache owner's responsibility to verify those regulations before placing a geocache within any cemetery.  Geocaches must be respectfully placed around the perimeter away from any graves or markers.

School Grounds and Proximity

The guidelines specifically state "a geocache is problematic due to its proximity to a public structure. Examples include highway bridges, major roadways, dams, government buildings, schools, military installations, hospitals, airports and other areas defined in the Regional Geocaching Policies Wiki."

Generally - should some one seeking a cache be visible from the school buildings, parking areas, and/or playing fields - I consider the cache to be "too close".

This restriction applies even with verifiable permission - as this permission can not be clearly communicated to all "stakeholders" of the school - including the administration, teachers, students, staff, and parents.

Tree Climbing

Caches will not be listed in city parks if ladders, special equipment, or climbing is required to reach the cache.  These will require specific, verifiable permission.  All caches in city parks must be reachable from the ground, or be placed under the tree.

Additional Map Resources

• Montana Property Ownership Map:   http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral/

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Contact regional reviewers to see if information is available.