Consensus on dog regs
By Cheryl Lecesse/ Staff Writer
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Designated on-leash and off-leash trails, and a three-dog limit per handler are two of several draft regulations the Conservation Commission has planned to control dog use at Mt. Misery.
Commissioners put together a draft list of regulations May 18, following its third public hearing on the issue. Before closing the public hearing, residents and Mount Misery users in attendance gave their opinions on previously suggested ideas for regulations, and suggested new ideas.
Draft regulations include requiring people to pick up dog feces in the agricultural fields, on and near trails and within the first 500 feet of the entrance. Two barrels will be placed, as well as a holder for recycled bags, in case people forget their own.
According to the draft regulations, dogs would be required to be on leash near the parking lot, to help with feces removal, and on the main trail.
Dogs would not be allowed to swim in the kettle hole or vernal pools, but would be allowed at one section of the larger pond near the entrance.
Commissioners also plan to place a limit of three dogs per person. Richard Lyman of Chestnut Circle said he and others feel they have noticed an increase of the number of professional dog walkers using Mt. Misery, some with six to eight dogs.
"I myself have been on the wrong end of a whole group of these dogs," he said, saying the commission should put a limit on the number of dogs per handler.
"There's no way that someone could control a large number, say five to six dogs at a time," said commissioner Jim Meadors, saying he knows other places have successfully instituted a limit as well.
At the start of the hearing commission Chairman Mary Lincoln said the impacts of dogs on then ecology at Mount Misery and the ability of other users who do not have dogs to use Mt. Misery without fear has been on the commissioners' minds for some time.
"They're decidedly not intended to ban dogs for the area," Lincoln said.
Lincoln said the regulations need to be easy to enforce, and need to be something users feel comfortable with, so they can help to self-police the area, especially since two rangers patrol the land's trails.
During the hearing, users were allowed to give their final suggestions and voice their concerns.
"I have such good friends, dogs and people, at Mt. Misery," said Barbara Peskin of South Great Road. "There really is such a good group here now that wants to do all they can to be there."
Penny Billings of Lincoln Road, a former selectmen, said that she has heard a lot from residents concerned about small children being frightened or inadvertently hurt by dogs at Mt. Misery.
"I think I appreciate the Conservation Commission looking at this issue," she said.
Billings said she and others have noticed the trails do not look like they used to.
"They're very worn," she said. "I personally got a lot of calls and comments on the condition of the trails."
"In my professional opinion there is not environmental damage to this land," said Nancy Bryant of Lexington, a biologist. "The greenery is diverse and the plant life is diverse, and the biological life is diverse."
Bryant said, as a biologist, she looks for evidence and data proving any ecological impacts.
"If dog poop matters, horse poop matters," she said, saying duck weed, which grows when phosphorus levels in the ground are high, are growing near wetlands not far from the agricultural fields. Bryant said application of fertilizer and any manure piles can create high levels of phosphorus, carried downstream to the wetlands.
Ari Kurtz of Old Concord Road, who farms on part of the agricultural fields at Mt. Misery, said one manure pile belongs to his farm, Linden Tree Farm, a certified organic farm inspected by the USDA. The other belongs to Codman Farm, and has always been stored close to the woodlands.
Bryant said there is a "tremendous" siltation problem at the parking lot, where sand is draining into the brook - a problem that was visible in the winter but was not addressed.
Bryant passed in a petition, signed by 96 users at Mt. Misery. She said she obtained signatures during weekdays only, and said one person refused to sign.
"I obtained on average two people per walk," she said, using this point to show there is not an overuse problem at the conservation land.
Commissioner Peter von Mertens said he has been to Mt. Misery more often since the commission's hearings on the regulations, and at least five times dogs have jumped up on him.
"I'm concerned about the philosophy of any kind of leash law," said Annie Knowlton of Stonehedge, who used to be a professional dog walker.
"It's a very different experience to go off leash and on leash for me as a person," said Peskin.
"There is a tremendous difference between walking a dog off leash and on leash," said Alexandra Guldberg of Old Concord Road. "There's just nothing like being able to watch your dog run."
Guldberg said she never knew about Bryant's petition because she never saw her at Mt. Misery
"We live in a different time," said Edward Schwartz of Todd Pond Road. "Terrorism is making our life less free every day."
Schwartz said dogs contribute to the psychological health of their owners.
"A lot of people enjoy life because they have a dog and I'm one of these," he said.
"The dog walkers and dogs are better behaved because they're aware of the situation now," said Jim Sweeney of Waltham. | |
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