[BCNnet] Re: Dog areas; recent DuPage Article

[DuPage Hotline]

The article pasted below was recently published in the Sun and shows
the many problems that the DuPage FP District is now facing with Dog
Areas.

While in general I am not opposed to Dog Training Areas (DTAs), I feel
that they are rarely placed in "proper" areas where they will not have
a negative impact on the environment.

I still don't think that the Thatcher DTA is set in stone.  There is
still some hesitation as is evident by the pilot program that was put
in at Beck Lake instead of unconditional acceptance of proposals from
those with doggy demands.  I'm sure that issues like the ones in the
article below could also influence commissioners' minds.  The wild dog
attacks in the forest preserves are also still fresh in the minds of
the public.    Also, state-endangered plants have already been
discovered in sections of Thatcher Woods to the south of the proposed
Dog Area and more could be present at upstream locations. 
State-endangered birds including Red-Shouldered Hawks and Sharp-Shinned
Hawks were also noted breeding at the preserve.  The Thatcher Woods
Savanna Restoration Project describes this in more detail at their
website below (and is also a good group to possibly get a touch with).
http://www.oprf.com/Thatcher/index.html

Allowing another Dog Area at Thatcher Woods could open the door for
expanding the DTA at Beck Lake and putting in additional DTAs in other
areas.  The area at Beck Lake is already encroaching on quality
grassland and the proposed 60 acres would have much more impact.  Lake
County has one or two DTAs near this size, but they are in 1500 acre
preserves, not locations like Thatcher Woods that are along narrow
tracks of preserved land.  The DTA at Pratt's Wayne Woods in DuPage Co.
is only 23 acres despite the large size of the preserve.  It is also
unfortunately located directly next to one of the county's best quality
wetlands and one of the few locations with breeding Yellow-Headed
Blackbirds.  Erosion is also a Big problem at Dog Areas, which are
almost always placed near water.

They are obviously still "testing the water" and it is important to
express any concerns while the pilot program at Beck Lake is still in
place.

Eric Secker
ees101@avenew.com


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Forest district may charge fees to dog park users

By Katie Foutz
STAFF WRITER

By next spring, dog owners who take their pooches to area forest
preserves could wind up paying an annual permit fee to use the
off-leash exercise areas.

Using the Lake County Forest Preserve District as a model, DuPage
County Forest Preserve District staff members suggested charging DuPage
County residents $40 per dog and nonresidents $120 per dog each year
for permits to use the dog exercise areas.

Mike Palazzetti, acting operations director, recommended the permits
and fees to the Forest Preserve District Commission on Tuesday as ways
to resolve management issues at the increasingly popular dog parks.

"With increased urbanization in DuPage County, people are looking for
off-leash areas," Palazzetti said, adding that crowding becomes an
interference with recreation, especially at the district's two
dog-training sites. "When you shoot a projectile and have six dogs
bring it back, that becomes a problem."

Current off-leash areas are in Blackwell, East Branch, Mallard Lake,
Mayslake, Pratt's Wayne Woods and Springbrook Prairie forest preserves.
New fenced-in areas with a double-entry gate system were built this
year at Greene Valley Forest Preserve and Springbrook Prairie. A fenced
double-entry area is under construction at East Branch.

The permits would control who uses the off-leash areas by requiring
owners to keep their contact information and dog vaccination records on
file with the district and sign agreements to follow all rules and
regulations.

Additionally, the district could revoke permits if dogs or owners
continually cause problems with other users. Users have reported dogs
biting each other, dogs biting people and owners fighting each other —
two incidents of which have resulted in assault and battery charges,
Law Enforcement Director Tim Curtin said.

While the number of off-leash warnings and citations are decreasing,
the number of dog bites to other dogs and people are increasing. In
2002, forest preserve rangers dealt with 400 dog-related incidents —
four times the number of other arrests they make in the preserves for
offenses such as swimming and trespassing, Curtin said.

"For our officers, this issue is one of the most difficult to get a
handle on," he said. "They are taking the most abuse from dog owners
while trying to educate the owners about controlling their dog. People
are not controlling their animals."

Palazzetti also recommended staffing the off-leash areas at peak times
and seasons, closing the parks during inclement weather or closing
parts of the parks to allow turf to grow, setting park capacities and
helping local park districts build smaller dog parks to ease crowding
in the forest preserves.

Commissioner Carl Schultz of Aurora and Executive Director Brent
Manning said the district should base its permit fees on the cost to
maintain off-leash dog areas.

Commissioner Roger Kotecki of Carol Stream said he would like a
proposal soon so the district could enforce its new rules by spring.

Contact staff writer Katie Foutz at kfoutz@scn1.com or (630) 416-5216.
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