Is anyone aware of effective programs to promote responsible dog-handling in wilderness parks? The key issues are willingness to keep dogs on leash and readiness to 'pick up' after the dog. I'm part of the Committee developing a Management Plan for a large, environmentally sensitive urban wilderness park. Formerly the city's water supply, our Park is now frequented by a great many dog walkers. Few of them are willing to leash their dogs. Some are 'professional' dog-sitters who set a vanload of dogs loose at a time. Few dog walkers of any stripe scoop up their dog's waste. Although dogs are legally required to be restrained in all provincial parks, in practice this is an enforcement issue with some room for tolerance. Promoting responsible dog handling in our park will be a real challenge. I'd appreciate any case histories, success stories or advice.
Alain Godbout,
Secretary Long Lake Provincial Park Association
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Responsible Dog-Handling in Wilderness Parks
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The City of Boulder, Colorado has struggled with this - we are a smallish city filled with parks and surrounded by open space, much of it backing up onto 'wilderness' - the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Our parks and open space are in great demand - by hikers, mountain bikers, mountain unicyclists, and dog-owners. There have been many controversies over the years as demand for this amenity has increased, and a lot of education has occurred. As well, the City recently built dedicated dog parks, has designated some parks and open space hiking areas off limits to dogs and others as "dog-friendly," and has undertaken an educational campaign, including materials, for its system of open space & mountain parks as well. (http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/parks-recreation/PARKS/dog_parks_main.htm -- and you could call the phone # on the page to find the staff person who works on this -- also see http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/openspace/visitor/dogs.htm) and has enforced leash laws. There are dedicated 'police' who work for the Open Space and Mountain Parks division, who patrol (sometimes on mountain bikes) and enforce - so the city is fortunate to have the resources to both educate and enforce. It continues to be an issue however, with constant letters to the editor in the local paper about owners who are clueless, whose dogs scare others (maybe due to being a university town, with a high turnover of young people with dogs just moving in, and missing the education programs...). Residents get bill stuffers with utility bills reminding them about leash laws and resources. The City has gone so far as to put posts at many of the parks in and around the city with dispensers of bags to use to 'pick up' after the dogs - and trash cans too. It's become a fairly common practice to see dog walkers everywhere with the plastic bags tied on the leash here. This has been effective. Remember this is a public health issue - too much dog litter is unsanitary. The educational materials on the web sites above are quite good - brochures, maps, (http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/openspace/publications/brochures/dogbrochure.pdf) etc. I like it that they did the math "It is estimated that about 30 tons of dog waste are left behind on OSMP land every year. That's the equivalent of 15 Ford Explorers!" Probably one of the motivators here for people to keep dogs on leash is the occasional appearance of mountain lions or bears, as well as the steady presence of deer around town - and the sad mauling of dogs by the former. Probably not a problem in Halifax! Boulder County, which surrounds the City of Boulder, also has policies and education for dog-owners using its Parks and Open Space - see http://www.co.boulder.co.us/openspace/recreating/activities/dogs_horses.htm. Finally, there is a community dog-owners activist group here called FIDO ("Friendly Interested Dog Owners" or something -- I couldn't find a contact for them or a website though) who lobby the City on behalf of dog-friendly policies and who got the dog parks established. I believe they do education on leash use, cleaning up, etc - a nice grassroots response to a social need. Maybe staff people at the City or County who work on these issues could put you in touch with them. Since you're working on your Master Plan, I mention that Boulder seems to be in the process of updating its Parks & Rec Master Plan - the 2000 one is online at http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/parks-recreation/ABOUT_PARKS_REC/MASTER_PLAN/master_plan.pdf and does mention dogs -- a conversation with staff would be illuminating as I am sure they're addressing dog issues in this update. An interesting aside is that the City of Boulder's Council voted not too long ago that citizens don't actually "own" thier pets - I guess they decided that was reminiscent of slavery or something - but rather we are now our pet's "guardians". You still have to clean up after them though!
Good luck Alain,
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc. Boulder, CO
303.494.4934
vox 303.494.4880 fax
In Victoria, in southern Australia a series of planning tools and very useful resources, including what has worked and what hasn't on dog poo and other common litter problems can be found at www.litter.vic.gov.au . This includes links to responsible pet ownership and research as well as some very practical resources you might want to adapt. Education plus consultation and enforcement is essential to turn behaviours around. This has occurred in a relatively short period in urban Melbourne's parks and beaches.
Rose Read
Team Leader
Community & Government Sustainability Victoria
[email protected]
Alain:
I would suggest that you take a look at this article: Jason, L. A., Zolik, E. S., & Matese, F. J. (1979). Prompting dog owners to pick up dog droppings. American Journal of Community Psychology, 7, 3, 339-351. You can find a brief description of the findings here: http://www.cbsm.com/CasesDatabase/Detail.lasso?-KeyValue=104&-KeyField=ID Also, you may wish to search the articles database at the FSB website using littering as the search term. There are at least 3 articles listed there (of some 43) that might be particularly helpful. Here are their citations: Huffman, K. T., Grossnickle, W. F., Cope, J. G., & Huffman, K. P. (1995). Litter reduction: A review and integration of the literature. Special Issue: Litter control and recycling. Environment and Behavior, 27, 2, 153-183. Jason, L. A. & Zolik, E. S. (1980). Follow-up data on two dog-litter reduction interventions. American Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 6, 737-741. Jason, L. A., McCoy, K., Blanco, D., & Zolik, E. S. (1980). Decreasing dog litter: Behavioral consultation to help a community group. Evaluation Review, 4, 3, 355-369. HTH.
Best,
Doug
Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D.
McKenzie-Mohr Associates
(506) 455 5061 voice/pager
(506) 455 0550 fax [email protected]
http://www.cbsm.com