On January 14, 2011, the National Parks Service (NPS) released a Dog Management Draft Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Study (Plan/DEIS) for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The public comment period will end on April 14, 2011.

From their website: "The plan/DEIS evaluates the impacts of six alternatives (A – E and the preferred alternative) for dog management in 21 areas of GGNRA. The range of alternatives includes the consensus recommendations of the GGNRA Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for Dog Management, the 1979 Pet Policy, 36 CFR 2.15, and voice-control dog walking. The preferred alternative was chosen from the range of alternatives A-E."

The public comment period is now open for 90 days through April 14, 2011.

The concern dogs and their guardians will have is that less than 1% of visitors to all of the GGNRA are dogs with guardians. This fact makes it difficult to understand why a dog management plan is needed. Some of the environmental concerns are not well founded plus the presence of dogs in certain areas has actually helps strengthen the ecosystems there.

If you care about your freedom to visit our national recreation areas and parks as has been the case for many decades, please do diligence and submit your public comment so that you may help and continue open access with your well-trained furry family member. Help voice your companions' needs and ability to get the exercise and stretch needed for good health, for them to be able to participate in family outings, for them to socialize the best way without barriers and obstacles and and provide balance and stability of access not only in GGNRA but in San Francisco, too.

There will be more information upcoming soon. Please return here often for updates.

[Used with permission from SFDOG.org]

Some suggestions for your public comment on the DEIS. You should definitely say how much you enjoy walking with your dog off-leash in the GGNRA. But you need to include some substantive reasons why the GGNRA’s Preferred Alternative is not good and why they need to develop a new Alternative that will be more balanced, supportive of recreation, and reflects San Francisco’s values of co-existence, shared use, collaboration, and education to solve problems.

Feel free to pick and choose from these suggestions to fit what you want to say. You can use personal stories to illustrate these points, but you do not have to. Include at least one substantive point in your comment (see that section below).


PERSONAL COMMENTS – ALWAYS INCLUDE THIS INFORMATION

1)    You can send in more than one comment so don’t worry if you forget to say something. Just send in a second, third, fourth, etc. comment.

2)    If you are a member of a protected class, be sure to mention that in the first sentence of your comment. Protected class includes, seniors, disabled, ethnic minorities, parents, gays. Parents get your children to write separate comments and note their ages on the comment.

3)    Be sure to say that you are a local resident (if you are), and how long you have been recreating with your dog(s) off-leash in areas controlled by the GGNRA, which areas you frequent, and how often you go to the GGNRA each week or month.

dogpacsf.org call in day to congress

Tell Them:
  1. We want to keep the GGNRA open to dogs and off-leash dog walking.
  2. We want them to tell the GGNRA to stop pushing its extreme proposal, a plan that will negatively impact so many of us who live in the Bay Area.
  3. Specifically, tell them we understand that Congress could resolve this conflict by codifying the GGNRA’s 1979 Pet Policy as a Section Seven Special Regulation, and mandating that all properties added to the GGNRA after 1979 maintain historical recreational access.

U.S. Representative Jackie Speier
U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo
(202) 225-3531
(202) 225-5161
(202) 225-4965
(202) 224-3553
(202) 224-3841
(202) 225-8104

Not sure who your Congressperson is? Go to http://www.congress.org and enter your zip code.
Talking points, links, and additional info available at:
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