poop jackpot!

yep, another beautiful day. pooped, so we just walked this morning, and i hit the opp jackpot! 9 bags- some fresh, some not, 2 bagged, one tied, one not. and 3 bags of my own! woo hoo! nothing mid trail, though, which is an improvement. i need to buy more vegetables, my bag supply is seriously depleted.

anyway- on to more pleasant topics- heard a coyote yipping & saw her on the ridge. all dogs on leash where they should be, all dog owners & runners peasant and polite, mountain bikers pleasant and polite. one woman stopped her bike & moved over for the uphill runners- yay!

happy friday!

help needed on red fox

it was another beautiful morning! a bit cool, but clear. big skunk smell coming in from the park- i must have brushed against something, because i still smell it.

every dog we ran into was on leash where they were supposed to be, and off leash where ok and owners were respectful about letting dogs approach. very nice. probably 4 runners/walkers with dogs, 3 groups without.

5 piles of opp. one full bag in the trail coming in from the park (huh?) and another in the middle of the trail pile. the others were right on the side of the trail. all very visible- not me crawling through sage looking for piles. i am switching my adopted trail to red fox, since i pick up every morning there anyway. i could probably use some help. preferably from the people who are not picking up after their dogs now.

also more deer tracks coming down toward the pond.

have a great day!

FCAC Meeting This AM

the committee discussed the letter we sent, and are looking for staff recommendations next month prior to making a decision. there was discussion about how much more research is necessary (ranging from none to some), and a request for staff to provide the FCAC with a prioritized list of issues. Chairman McDevitt commented that the Foothills Conservation Advisory Committee's charge is to protect and preserve open space and part of the question is how much is given up to recreation and what is the cost.

it sounds like the committee plans to act after they hear from staff next month. any recommendations will then be passed on to mayor and council.

keep up the good work! we'll keep you posted!

an email from angel

here's an excerpt form an email received today from someone who helped with saturday's clean up.

" .........In the four+ years that I've been in Boise, I've noticed a significant shift in trail etiquette in the foothills. In the last year specifically, I've found myself jumping out of the way of mountain bikers in high traffic areas numerous times. Just stand near the kiosk at the top of 9th street for a bit in the evening if you haven't experienced it yourself. Almost 1/2 the bikers yesterday didn't hit their brakes at all until there was a serious threat of a collision, at which point it's almost too late. While I am not the kind of person to call and file a complaint, I believe that the FCAC needs to have a balanced view of what is happening on the trails.

You all know that I have no bone to pick with mountain bikers (as most of us engage in the occasional trail ride)... but like dog owners, you have a select few that can make the whole group seem poorly behaved. And since the FCAC seems to be unfairly attacking dog owners I think it's important that they have a more accurate picture of the types of conflict that are present in the foothills. I also don't suspect that a few phone calls are going to have them voting to eliminate mountain biking trails.

SO, Let's assume that the FCAC needs more information. PLEASE report legitimate conflicts if you are unfortunate enough to experience them AND also report positive experiences like seeing dogs who are under voice control or a walk down a leash trail where all dogs are leashed, etc. For some reason, they're convinced that dogs and dog owners are their biggest problem... if we want to maintain some freedom in the foothills we'll have to convince them otherwise. At the very least maybe we can convince them that the greatest conflicts are often site specific and can be dealt with as such. "

pointing out, once again, that a few boneheads can ruin it for everyone, that it is as important to provide positive feedback as negative, and that a little common courtesy goes a long, long way.

wah!

today not so good. rats! guess it's just that i was out before the bulk of folks yesterday. first- the good news- every dog was on leash when on on leash trails. owners very nice.

not such good news- lots of OPP. someone runs red fox in the morning with a little dog who poops on the trail. not good. do these people just leave dog poop in the street if the dog goes there while they're running? i don't get it. small dog poop is just as disgusting as big dog poop- and i don't want to step in any of it.

the thing that really annoyed me about all of the OPP is that i couldn't even work up good righteous indignation toward the 3 moutain bikers who came bombing down red fox. we could have had a good wreck if the on leash dogs & i had been headed up that stretch as they were coming down.

bottom line- there are poster children for bad behavior all over the place and across user groups.

those of you who run or bike with your dogs if you just can't stop to clean up while you're out with them- please go back and clean up a trail later. we all need to pitch in & do our part or we will all suffer the consequences. i love the message on SWIMBA's site that these trails are a privelege, not a right. we need to remember that & act accordingly.

monday

beautiful morning! nice run/walk- 2 other groups with dogs, 2 groups without, one mt biker. best part- trails look good! red fox & chickadee still show the attention they got over the weekend. picked a a few small piles of opp- 2 looked to be from a small dog who was probably following a runner, just judging by location (on the trail) and we picked up some older stuff.

good comments continue to come in about this weekend's event- thanks again so much to everyone!

unintended consequences

from an email received earlier this week:

And finally and perhaps unfortunately, I believe that the Working Group's effort has -- inadvertently or otherwise -- provoked or maybe intensified some friction between mountain bikers and hikers/dog walkers by appearing to define trail braiding, etc, as "dog problems." I've seen plenty of speeding, out-of-control mountain bikers and new trails created by these folks. Our dogs and I have always done our best to share the trails with mountain bikers, but we sometimes don't receive the same respect. Today's "Outdoors" supplement to the Statesman was all about mountain biking, and I found myself gritting my teeth -- something I likely would not have done prior to the "blame the dog" approach of the Working Group. Maybe the time has come to simply have separate trails for separate uses, or an "even-odd" day use allocation. Bummer if it's come to that, but perhaps we've just reached that point.

this is precisely the reason we need a comprehensive plan from a task force of all user groups. singling out one group for special attanetion does not foster the spirit of cooperation and civility we need to make the resource work for everyone.