Lake Shelbyville – The 2013 Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure (MOGA) will occur at Lake Shelbyville, April 5-7, 2013. This is the World's Largest Geocaching Competition and over 1,100 people are expected to participate in it this year. Multiple events and competitions are scheduled for the three days.
Participants in this event do not need to be experts. There are activities for all experience levels and this is a great opportunity for new geocahers to gain knowledge from others with more experience. For more information on the event please visit the website at www.mogageo.com.
The MOGA event is organized by the Central Illinois Geocaching Association (CIGA). CIGA has received support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cities and business of Shelbyville, Findlay, Sullivan, Strasburg, Windsor and other surrounding communities for this event.
Geochaching is a sport/hobby that anyone can participate in, all they need is a global positioning system (GPS) or a Smartphone. It provides a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt searching for a geocache (cache) at a specific set of GPS coordinates. Often a cache is a container ranging in size from “nano” to “large.” Examples of these are 35 mm film canisters and large buckets. The caches can also blend in with the surrounding environment, two examples of these types of caches are fake walnuts and bolts on a light pole! Once participants locate a cache they can sign the logbook inside and start searching for another cache. Inside the larger caches there are often items that participants can take as long as they leave something of equal or greater value in the cache. Also, participants can share their experiences locating the caches online. There are hundreds of geocaches in the counties surrounding Lake Shelbyville with over 2 million active geocaches in the Unites States. For more information on geocaching visit the website www.geocaching.com.
Land and water managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are designated for many uses. Geocaches that are on Corps managed land will stay in place after the MOGA event and geocachers will continue searching for them year-round. The Corps stresses the importance of safety with this and every activity that occurs in Corps managed areas. Geocachers please be prepared with the essentials and let others know where you are going prior to heading out for the search. Geocachers are advised, prior to going into the woods, to check for open hunting season dates and make a decision accordingly. It is a safe practice to wear brightly colored clothing items, like blaze orange, if someone enters the woods as a non hunter during a hunting season. Hunters must follow all regulations the state of Illinois has set for the animal they are hunting. As always hunters please stay alert that there may be people walking in the woods. Before a shot is made please be sure it is safe to do so.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hope all the visitors to Lake Shelbyville will continue to enjoy the multiple recreational opportunities that are available and stay safe doing so.
Release no. 13-28