The East Bay Regional Park District has over 100,000 acres of
parks throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. There are other areas like
the Walnut Creek Open Space, the John Muir Land Trust, some parts of the East Bay Water District and other areas that allow dog-walking.
• The goal of Share Our Trails is to work to keep dog-walking legal in the parks and
education to promote responsible behavior on the part of dog-owners.
• Dogs are generally allowed off-leash in undeveloped areas and trails.
They must be on-leash in developed areas like picnic areas and parking lots,
They are not allowed in certain environmentally sensitive areas like marshes and
some parks.
• The park district is under increasing pressure from within and without to limit dogs
and has been sued about their dog policies. Many district staff members are
unsympathetic to dog-walking. Meetings are well-attended by people and
organizations who oppose dogs in the parks.
• The park district has many thousand acres of new acquisitions. We would like to see
these be open to off-leash dog walking in the undeveloped areas, except where there
are threatened species or other special concerns. The new areas that have been
opened so far have not been opened to off-leash dog-walking. See "New Park
Acquisitions" page above
UPDATE 11/23/18
The Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District met on 11/20 and accepted the environmental impact report and the land use plan for the new areas of the Sibley Preserve, with some reservations about single track bicycle/ multi-use trails and routing of trails. The plan was accepted as proposed for dogs. The "old" areas of Sibley will remain open to off-leash dogs except in parking lots and developed areas, and on trails previously restricted as on-leash.
The "new" areas of Sibley will be opened to dogs on-leash only, and there will be no additional off-leash acreage. There will do a major creek restoration, and dogs will not be allowed in this area or on a nature trail, or on any trails that approach Huckleberry Park.
We did have a successful letter writing campaign. The park received 113 letters supporting off-leash dog-walking in the new area. This was out of 175 total letters total received, seven of which opposed or expressed reservations about off-leash dog-walking. Thanks to everyone who wrote!! It did not change the outcome on this plan, but there are many more areas opening in the future and this will have a good effect on park planning in the future.
The McCosker entrance in Canyon will stay open for a short time and dogs are still not allowed. Then they will close this section of the park completely to construct the parking lot and campground and restore the creek. This will probably take several years, so it is a long process and there will be no dog walking there for quite a while.
parks throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. There are other areas like
the Walnut Creek Open Space, the John Muir Land Trust, some parts of the East Bay Water District and other areas that allow dog-walking.
• The goal of Share Our Trails is to work to keep dog-walking legal in the parks and
education to promote responsible behavior on the part of dog-owners.
• Dogs are generally allowed off-leash in undeveloped areas and trails.
They must be on-leash in developed areas like picnic areas and parking lots,
They are not allowed in certain environmentally sensitive areas like marshes and
some parks.
• The park district is under increasing pressure from within and without to limit dogs
and has been sued about their dog policies. Many district staff members are
unsympathetic to dog-walking. Meetings are well-attended by people and
organizations who oppose dogs in the parks.
• The park district has many thousand acres of new acquisitions. We would like to see
these be open to off-leash dog walking in the undeveloped areas, except where there
are threatened species or other special concerns. The new areas that have been
opened so far have not been opened to off-leash dog-walking. See "New Park
Acquisitions" page above
UPDATE 11/23/18
The Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District met on 11/20 and accepted the environmental impact report and the land use plan for the new areas of the Sibley Preserve, with some reservations about single track bicycle/ multi-use trails and routing of trails. The plan was accepted as proposed for dogs. The "old" areas of Sibley will remain open to off-leash dogs except in parking lots and developed areas, and on trails previously restricted as on-leash.
The "new" areas of Sibley will be opened to dogs on-leash only, and there will be no additional off-leash acreage. There will do a major creek restoration, and dogs will not be allowed in this area or on a nature trail, or on any trails that approach Huckleberry Park.
We did have a successful letter writing campaign. The park received 113 letters supporting off-leash dog-walking in the new area. This was out of 175 total letters total received, seven of which opposed or expressed reservations about off-leash dog-walking. Thanks to everyone who wrote!! It did not change the outcome on this plan, but there are many more areas opening in the future and this will have a good effect on park planning in the future.
The McCosker entrance in Canyon will stay open for a short time and dogs are still not allowed. Then they will close this section of the park completely to construct the parking lot and campground and restore the creek. This will probably take several years, so it is a long process and there will be no dog walking there for quite a while.
Sibley Preserve is expanding!!! There are 639 new acres that will be open in the future.
The Park District is completing the Land Use Planning Amendnent (LUPA) and the Environmental Impact Report. There are about 8 new miles of trails total, 9 new miles of trails open to horses, 9.3 new miles of trails for bikes .................
0% ZERO new areas for off-leash dogs.
Some of the area is environmentally sensitive, e.g. an extensive creek restoration is planned, and some of the land will be devoted to a group campground. Part of it has a deed restriction. But there is a lovely upland area with views and a trail currently called the McCosker Loop. We would like to see the McCosker loop open to off-leash dogs. The parks own planning documents, recently revised by the Parks Advisory Committee, and the rules and regulations of Ordinance 38 call for undeveloped areas to be offleash and multi-use, except where specifically inappropriate.
What can you do?
They are completing the Land Use Planning Amendment (LUPA) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Comments must be received by 8/20/18.
email Julie Bondurant jbondurant@ebparks.org
Here is the link to the LUPA- many pages, lots of interesting info and maps
http://www.ebparks.org/about/planning/#robert_sibley_lupa
Talking points, suggestions
1) We would like to see the McCosker Loop open to off-leash dogs
2) Dog walking is an important form of recreation that allows people of all ages to get outdoors
and exercise- personal statement why it is important to you, helps physically, mentally spiritually, whatever matters most to you ( The mission of the parks is recreation and protection of natural resources, so they do not see the benefit to your dog or to dog rescue etc as an important part of their goal) Having regular users like dog walkers may make parks safer from crime and isolation.
3) The parks own policies favor multiple use of trails when feasible. The Parks Advisory Committee met last year to review dog policies, and the final document did recommend continuing to allow off-leash dogs in undeveloped areas unless there was a reason not to do so. Ordinance 38 is the rules and regulations governing the EBRPD, and dogs are allowed off-leash in undeveloped areas unless otherwise specified. We feel that dogs should be allowed off-leash on the McCosker loop.
Thanks!! Please comment! Kat
Send comments:
"Due to the time limits mandated by State law, comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. August 20, 2018. Please send written comments to Julie Bondurant, Principal Planner, via mail to: East Bay Regional Park District, ATTN: Julie Bondurant, Principal Planner, 2950 Peralta Oaks Ct., Oakland, California 94605-0381or via e-mail to: jbondurant@ebparks.org."
Here is a link:
https://www.ebparks.org/about/planning/default.htm#robert_sibley_lupa
If you have questions on this, or want to know what other areas will be open in the future,
feel free to email me at kat@shareourtrails.com
The documents in the link are 200+ pages and 600+ pages,
so I can share what has been said in meetings of the Board of Directors and of the Parks
Advisory Committee.
In the map below, the new area is in yellow. It currently does not allow dogs, and in the plan, dogs will be allowed on-leash only and not allowed in various areas.
photo from park documents of new area:
The Park District is completing the Land Use Planning Amendnent (LUPA) and the Environmental Impact Report. There are about 8 new miles of trails total, 9 new miles of trails open to horses, 9.3 new miles of trails for bikes .................
0% ZERO new areas for off-leash dogs.
Some of the area is environmentally sensitive, e.g. an extensive creek restoration is planned, and some of the land will be devoted to a group campground. Part of it has a deed restriction. But there is a lovely upland area with views and a trail currently called the McCosker Loop. We would like to see the McCosker loop open to off-leash dogs. The parks own planning documents, recently revised by the Parks Advisory Committee, and the rules and regulations of Ordinance 38 call for undeveloped areas to be offleash and multi-use, except where specifically inappropriate.
What can you do?
They are completing the Land Use Planning Amendment (LUPA) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Comments must be received by 8/20/18.
email Julie Bondurant jbondurant@ebparks.org
Here is the link to the LUPA- many pages, lots of interesting info and maps
http://www.ebparks.org/about/planning/#robert_sibley_lupa
Talking points, suggestions
1) We would like to see the McCosker Loop open to off-leash dogs
2) Dog walking is an important form of recreation that allows people of all ages to get outdoors
and exercise- personal statement why it is important to you, helps physically, mentally spiritually, whatever matters most to you ( The mission of the parks is recreation and protection of natural resources, so they do not see the benefit to your dog or to dog rescue etc as an important part of their goal) Having regular users like dog walkers may make parks safer from crime and isolation.
3) The parks own policies favor multiple use of trails when feasible. The Parks Advisory Committee met last year to review dog policies, and the final document did recommend continuing to allow off-leash dogs in undeveloped areas unless there was a reason not to do so. Ordinance 38 is the rules and regulations governing the EBRPD, and dogs are allowed off-leash in undeveloped areas unless otherwise specified. We feel that dogs should be allowed off-leash on the McCosker loop.
Thanks!! Please comment! Kat
Send comments:
"Due to the time limits mandated by State law, comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. August 20, 2018. Please send written comments to Julie Bondurant, Principal Planner, via mail to: East Bay Regional Park District, ATTN: Julie Bondurant, Principal Planner, 2950 Peralta Oaks Ct., Oakland, California 94605-0381or via e-mail to: jbondurant@ebparks.org."
Here is a link:
https://www.ebparks.org/about/planning/default.htm#robert_sibley_lupa
If you have questions on this, or want to know what other areas will be open in the future,
feel free to email me at kat@shareourtrails.com
The documents in the link are 200+ pages and 600+ pages,
so I can share what has been said in meetings of the Board of Directors and of the Parks
Advisory Committee.
In the map below, the new area is in yellow. It currently does not allow dogs, and in the plan, dogs will be allowed on-leash only and not allowed in various areas.
photo from park documents of new area:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring 2018.
Park Document - the report of the Parks Advisory Committee released and will be presented to Board of Directors
East Ridge and West Ridge Trails in Redwood Park and Leona Canyon to be
studied with possible leash restrictions in future.
The new park area in Canyon that is part of Sibley Regional Park will be on leash-only,
with no advance notice or explanation, after years of meetings.
Other new park areas may never be opened to dogs, or may be on-leash only.
The Parks Advisory Committee of the East Bay Regional Parks has been
meeting for the last year to re-examine dog policies. They have released the final document
(click "park documents" above, and see excerpts below)
The meetings were congenial, and many good suggestions were made, such
as improved education and signage, more trash containers, better
communication between park user groups. The document itself is fairly positive,
with the statement that current policies will be continued with trails open
to traditional uses, unless there is reason to limit certain uses.
BUT they are able to find many reasons
to limit dogs. There is much pressure from within and without the
park district against dogs. There is pressure to limit dogs on popular trails
because of high use, and to limit dogs in wild areas because of wildlife.
The document specifically mentions the East Ridge and West Ridge
trails to be studied for future restrictions. There was discussion during
the meetings of sending out teams of people, possibly interns with iPads,
to study any negative interactions between dogs and wildlife, dogs and
other users, and dog- owners not following rules.
Pleas were made by dog-owners to make any surveys professional and
neutral, and there was discussion about how biased surveys
that seek a certain outcome can find information
to support a pre-determined goal.
What Can I do?
-Come to EBRPD Board of Directors' Meeting- date to be announced. Details to follow
-Email your EBRPD board member and say why dog-walking is important to you, or why off-leash walking is important to you. This is about recreation- a major mission of the parks, and dog-walking is a healthy recreation for many people.
If you live in the area of Oakland near Redwood Park, your board member is Dee Rosario drosario@ebparks.org
If you live elsewhere, here is a link to the ward maps and the email addresses of the other board members
http://www.ebparks.org/about/board/Board_of_Directors_-_Ward_Maps
http://www.ebparks.org/about/board
Spring 2018.
Park Document - the report of the Parks Advisory Committee released and will be presented to Board of Directors
East Ridge and West Ridge Trails in Redwood Park and Leona Canyon to be
studied with possible leash restrictions in future.
The new park area in Canyon that is part of Sibley Regional Park will be on leash-only,
with no advance notice or explanation, after years of meetings.
Other new park areas may never be opened to dogs, or may be on-leash only.
The Parks Advisory Committee of the East Bay Regional Parks has been
meeting for the last year to re-examine dog policies. They have released the final document
(click "park documents" above, and see excerpts below)
The meetings were congenial, and many good suggestions were made, such
as improved education and signage, more trash containers, better
communication between park user groups. The document itself is fairly positive,
with the statement that current policies will be continued with trails open
to traditional uses, unless there is reason to limit certain uses.
BUT they are able to find many reasons
to limit dogs. There is much pressure from within and without the
park district against dogs. There is pressure to limit dogs on popular trails
because of high use, and to limit dogs in wild areas because of wildlife.
The document specifically mentions the East Ridge and West Ridge
trails to be studied for future restrictions. There was discussion during
the meetings of sending out teams of people, possibly interns with iPads,
to study any negative interactions between dogs and wildlife, dogs and
other users, and dog- owners not following rules.
Pleas were made by dog-owners to make any surveys professional and
neutral, and there was discussion about how biased surveys
that seek a certain outcome can find information
to support a pre-determined goal.
What Can I do?
-Come to EBRPD Board of Directors' Meeting- date to be announced. Details to follow
-Email your EBRPD board member and say why dog-walking is important to you, or why off-leash walking is important to you. This is about recreation- a major mission of the parks, and dog-walking is a healthy recreation for many people.
If you live in the area of Oakland near Redwood Park, your board member is Dee Rosario drosario@ebparks.org
If you live elsewhere, here is a link to the ward maps and the email addresses of the other board members
http://www.ebparks.org/about/board/Board_of_Directors_-_Ward_Maps
http://www.ebparks.org/about/board
Excerpt from final report of Parks Advisory Committee
"In 2016, the Volunteer Mounted Trail Safety Patrol testified before the Park Advisory Committee (PAC) on problems with off leash dogs in the District’s parklands."
.................................
multi -page document ..................
"As a general approach the District should consider all new trails as multiuse and then consider why specific use groups should be excluded due to concerns for wildlife, natural and historic resources, appropriateness of terrain and other potential conflicts."
Several trails were specifically mentioned for study and possible limitation in dogs in the future............
"Trails to be monitored include: ...........(snip)
Leona Canyon, and
East and West Ridge trails in Redwood Park.
The results of the trail monitoring process will have to be reviewed by Staff, and recommendations made as to whether additional management and/or operational changes are warranted. "
"In 2016, the Volunteer Mounted Trail Safety Patrol testified before the Park Advisory Committee (PAC) on problems with off leash dogs in the District’s parklands."
.................................
multi -page document ..................
"As a general approach the District should consider all new trails as multiuse and then consider why specific use groups should be excluded due to concerns for wildlife, natural and historic resources, appropriateness of terrain and other potential conflicts."
Several trails were specifically mentioned for study and possible limitation in dogs in the future............
"Trails to be monitored include: ...........(snip)
Leona Canyon, and
East and West Ridge trails in Redwood Park.
The results of the trail monitoring process will have to be reviewed by Staff, and recommendations made as to whether additional management and/or operational changes are warranted. "
- Here are just a few of the new acquisitions:
- Deer Valley- south of Black Diamond Mines, to be administered as part of Black Diamond Mines
- Roddy Ranch
- Clayton Ranch- east side of Marsh Creek Road south of Clayton extending up towards Black Diamond Mines, including the incomparable Irish Canyon
- Hanson Hills along Marsh Creek Road
- land along Palomares Road extending east towards Pleasanton Ridge
- Hunsaker Canyon Rd. just outside Lafayette extending towards Las Trampas
- McCosker site and related properties lying between Oakland, Moraga, and Orinda
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