Monday, January 26, 2009

more mud

i really wanted to do a nice foothills walk today. haven't been on the trails since friday. but i was too much of a weenie to get out when it was 16 and by the time i could go after lunch it was like this:

and my shoe looked like this:
so, even though it was very tempting, because the day looked like this:


we turned around & scoped out the neighborhood.

i've been told different things about whether it's ok to be on sandy soil when it's that wet. guess i'd rather be safe than sorry. the other problem is that parts of the trail system- like parts of chickadee ridge- are not as sandy and get wrecked. then there's the widening caused by going around puddles, ice, etc. didn't stop everyone, though- saw 2 mt bike riders & 3 or 4 people walking/running right through it. 2 with dogs.

the problem with preserving the reserves and trails is so much bigger than one user group. we all have to pull together and really work to keep what we have. we all need to respect each other and the resource. passing more rules that can't be enforced does nothing to further that cause. there is a real opportunity to build a coalition of users to raise awareness and educate.

the problems we have now on the lower trails will move up in the next 5 or 10 years. if we can't enforce now, we certainly won't be able to as the area becomes more populated and more use moves farther out.

i don't think every trail should be off leash.

people who don't want to encounter loose dogs should have places they know that they can safely walk. just like many people are more comfortable on pedestrian only trails.

off leash trails should not be free for alls. dogs need to be under control. it is just not cool to let a dog chase wildlife or run up to people or other dogs. but it's a big shift in behavior that has been allowed for years. and if we can't enforce better then we are going to have to rely on education. there's not really another option that i can think of.

website up- minimal, but up! so please let me know if you have ideas for content. www.boisetraildog.org

off to warm and sunny tucson for the next few days, dogs at spa boise kennels. press conference with swimba thursday to raise awareness of staying off muddy trails.


back toward the end of the week. have a good one!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that some people "get" that using the trails in muddy conditions are the main causes of trail widening and degradation!

marianne said...

thanks- we're working on getting the word out!

Anonymous said...

Thank you. I learned something today!

What ever happened to common sense, even when it comes to your own beloved furbaby and the public? To bad this even has to be said.

BTW, your blog has received an award:

http://TuLipsTalking.blogspot.com

~Lily