Mount Misery leash rule brings a howl of protest
Dog walkers at a Lincoln conservation area will have to begin leashing their canine companions next week on much of the sprawling network of trails, rather than letting them frolic freely.
The new regulations at Mount Misery, imposed by the Conservation Commission, are to go into effect Tuesday.
It's a big change for the large conservation area, which has long been leash-optional, attracting dog owners from all over the area. Dog walkers describe a community at Mount Misery where dogs can roam free and socialize, and where dog walkers have long conversations in the woods while their dogs play.
''When my dog is leashed, I'm leashed to my dog. So it changes the experience tremendously," said Barbara Peskin of Lincoln, who walks her 8-year-old collie mix, Daisy, at Mount Misery nearly every day. Conservation Commission members say the new restrictions are necessary to protect people from being harassed by dogs, and to protect wildlife and vegetation from being ravaged.
Those problems stem from too many people and too many dogs, commission members say. ''It isn't because we had any problems with people. We had problems with overuse. I think that's what we're trying to change here," said commission member Peter von Mertens.
In March, the commission voted to require dogs to be on leashes on all of Mount Misery land as of early April, but backed off after howls of protest. After holding a few lengthy public hearings, the commission decided this month to issue new regulations requiring leashes on much of the land but not all of it.
According to the new regulations, leashes will be required on the main trail from the Route 117 parking lot to the farm fields, on all trails near the farm fields, along the trail up and over Mount Misery, and on the trails around two ponds east of the Route 117 parking lot. Dogs may be let off leash only on specifically marked trails, including trails to the west of the main trail from the parking lot on Route 117, the loop trail around Mount Misery to the east of the main trail, and trails south of the easternmost pond that is close to Route 117. Dog swimming will be restricted to a small portion of the pond closest to the Route 117 parking lot and in the Sudbury River.
Dog owners acknowledge that the commission moved in their direction, but many argue that commission members didn't move far enough.
''I really appreciate their process," Peskin said. ''I appreciate so much that they compromised, but I wish they had started with a smaller step. I wish they had had a trial period of just leashing the main path, to see how it went."
Samm Miller, a Sudbury resident, founded Friends of Mount Misery a couple of months ago to organize people who use Mount Misery to assist with trail maintenance and to inform them about what is going on there. Miller, who walks her golden retriever, Gracie, at Mount Misery just about every weekend, said she understands the need to have dogs on a leash on the main trail and on the farm fields, but that Conservation Commission members included too much land in the restrictions. ''They've taken so many of the trails and made them on-lead, there's no long loop to get exercise for your dog," Miller said.
Dick McWalter, a Concord resident who has been going to Mount Misery for more than 20 years, in March created a website, www.mountmisery.org, to help inform and organize dog owners. McWalter, who has often walked his 3-year-old German shepherd, Jake, in the evenings at Mount Misery, criticized the new regulations, saying the commission should have tried lesser measures, such as requiring a leash on weekends during the daytime. ''They're really making a mess of things. They're taking all the prime area. I think it's going to keep a lot of people from going there."
But the Conservation Commission is not trying to drive dog owners away from Mount Misery, von Mertens said. ''We're hoping that those people will continue to come, and continue a safe and friendly atmosphere for all." 