what's so funny 'bout peace love and understanding?

i know that a lot of dog owners are still frustrated and feeling picked on. all i can say is that we're all in this together. every user group has an idea of what the perfect world would be. even within groups, accepted use varies- some folks would have all dogs running loose & not worry about where they are or what they're up to, because it's all nature; some mt bike riders would bomb the trails, broken bones (theirs or anyone else's) be damned; most of us understand that we need to be respectful of each other and share the resource.

that being said, we need to be treated equally by the powers that be when it comes to policy. that's what we're about at Boise Trail DOG- being viewed as a legitimate user group with a seat at the table. with that comes the need to be open minded and to try to understand where the other side is coming from.

so here's my take on the braiding thing: first of all, my understanding from David Gordon is that the primary concern re dogs is the lower, heavily used trail areas, which is all i am talking about here. and it is mostly near parking lots and trailheads. it is understood that higher up there are more culprits, and that's not what we're addressing here. (thanks katy for remidning me to clarify)

first one, hard to believe dog caused or dog maintained- bike tracks, footprints, right alongside the trail, tho dogs may use it (and mine do, tho i am calling them off now), probably not the primary culprits.





but this i can see paw prints on. yes, we all see people and kids wander off in the brush, but it takes repeated activity on the same path to make a trail and there's nothing here for people to continue to go look at. yes, there are fox and coyote, but they are most likely spread out and not continually walking in this same area. our beloved pets do have an impact- just like other trail users.

the question is what amount of degradation is the community willing to accept in exchange for trail use. lots of people don't even see this as a trail, and if they do, they don't find it offensive. but there are other people who do see the trails, and it does bother them.

there's give and take in every relationship. dogs are not the source of all evil (neither are mountain bikes), but there are things we can do better. end of sermon.



today's count a reverse of yesterday- it was dog central this morning (all very good, leashed where they should be, owners with poop bags).

people/groups with dogs 12; p/g without 9

woohoo! it's almost the weekend!