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New Guidelines for Golden Gate Park Has Dog Owners Barking Mad

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A woman playing frisbee with her dog at Golden Gate Park.

New rules for Golden Gate parks, beaches and trails are going to have dog owners barking mad.

Yesterday, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area provided new guidelines to what areas are dog-friendly — and pup parents lost some ground.

Related: San Francisco Looks to Clean Up Crappy Problem By Composting Dog Poop

Off-leash areas have been reduced to six spots in the 80,000 acres park that goes from Marin to San Mateo County. Pups and their parents will have access to Fort Funston, Crissy Field, Ocean Beach, Fort Mason, Rodeo Beach and Rancho Corral de Tierr, according to SF Gate. Within these locations, dogs will be allowed on 2.8 miles of beach (currently they are allowed on an area double the size) and of the 137 miles of trails, dogs can be on 47 miles, with 46 of these on-leash, the outlet reports.

The Fort Funston dog-friendly off-leash area went from 85 acres to 35. However, a trail for on- and off-leash will be added. The dog-friendly Muir Beach will no longer be off leash, but there will be an on-leash loop added.

Related: Dogs Hit the Waves for First World Surfing Championships in Northern California

Dog owners did see some wins, but they aren’t close to the current canine accommodations. Crissy Field’s dog-friendly area is 40 percent of the space, though it did move to the west Central Beach is also off-leash and the picnic area at East Beach is on-leash.

“By and large, off-leash has always worked out,” Martha Walters, an environmental scientist who founded the Crissy Field Dog Group, a nonprofit focused on responsible dog ownership, told SF Gate.. “We were blindsided by this. Now all of the people who go to Baker Beach or Land’s End will go to Fort Funston and Crissy Field. By shrinking the proportion of parkland — that will cause serious dispersion issues. I think that will actually raise conflict.”

Related: Hundreds of Corgis Descend on San Francisco Beach for Corgi Con

 

By Andrea Huspeni

Andrea Huspeni is the founder and CEO of This Dog's Life. Her mission it to help dogs live a happier, healthier and longer life. When she isn't working, she spends time with her two dogs, Lola and Milo. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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