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September 1, 2011 Update:
Below is the current list of Special events at Crissy Field through October 2011.
We want to inform you about some upcoming events and several updates:
1) Public comment period for the proposed parking fee at the West Bluff Parking lot at Crissy Field.
The public comment period for the proposed parking has been extended to September 23, 2011.
Please visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/goga and select Crissy Field Fee Parking Proposal at West Bluff/Battery East, Presidio.
2) Public comment period for the Significant Natural Areas in certain areas of San Francisco City Parks. The San Francisco Department of Planning has released the long awaited Significant Natural Areas Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The proposed alternative would greatly reduce off leash dog areas in a couple of city parks. The public comment period for this document closes October 17, 2011. Please visit www.sfgov.org and select the Planning Department button for further information.
3) List of upcoming special events at Cirssy Field
This list is only for East Beach, West Bluff, and Crissy Field, or events
that may affect those areas.
As always, list and events are subject to change.
9/1-9/19 Shakespeare in the Presidio
9/3 Wedding at West Bluff Amphitheatre <200 people
9/4 Run from East Beach to Fort Point <200 people
9/8-9/9 Crissy Airfield (West End)- Event with huge tent <400 people,
arriving by buses
9/8-9/11 East Beach Yacht event – LIMITED PARKING
9/9-9/11 Komen Walk for a Cure – rest stops scattered around the Presidio,
lots of walkers
9/10 Crissy Airfield (West End) 100+ person picnic
9/10 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Picnic <200 people
9/11 Crissy Airfield to Fort Point – 200 person run
9/11 East Beach – gathering in morning <100 people
9/11 Crissy Airfield (West End) – Bicycling/BBQ event – 300 people
9/16 West Bluff Amphitheatre evening Picnic <200 people
9/16 morning to afternoon, relay race originating on Marina Green – IMPACT
on Battery East Parking
9/17 COASTAL CLEANUP DAY – Lots of volunteers throughout park
9/17 East Beach – Picnic <100 people
9/17 East Beach – Wedding <100 people
9/17 Crissy Airfield (West End) Anniversary Party – 150 people/hour
9/17-9/18 – East Beach to Airfield – 24 hour Run – 150 people
9/18 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Charity walk – <200 people
9/18 Crissy Airfield (West End) – Charity Walk – 400 people
9/18 Crissy Airfield (East End) – Charity Run – 500 people
9/20 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Picnic – <200 people
9/22 East Beach – Picnic – <200 people
9/24 Bike ride from SF to Marin, rest stop along Crissy Field
9/24 Wedding – Cypress Grove
9/24 Great Urban Race – Lots of people starting at Sports Basement
9/24 East Beach – Swim – <500 people, LIMITED PARKING
9/25 East Beach – Picnic – <200 people
9/25 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Picnic – <200 people
9/27 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Picnic – <200 people
9/28 West Bluff Amphitheatre – Picnic – <200 people
OCTOBER- Major Road Closure Dates, more to come later this month:
October 2, Bridge to Bridge, Mason and Marine Drive closed til about 11am
October 6-10 Fleet Week – expect parking to be full by 11am
October 16, Nike Women’s Marathon, Mason and Marine Drive closed til about
11am
The Presidio Trust also sends out announcements about upcoming events, if
you are interested in their list, email Steve Overman at SOverman@presidiotrust.gov
Summer 2011
First and foremost, CFDG wants to thank all of our members who have supported us and continue to do so as we try to retain responsible off leash at Crissy Field and other areas within the GGNRA. Your letters to the GGNRA were terrific and your support has been invaluable for us… we greatly appreciate it!
Accomplishments since January 2011 (release date of the GGNRA”s
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan)
These past five months have been extremely busy for the Crissy Field Dog Group. CFDG’s environmental consultant (Tetra Tech) and our NEPA expert attorney, Ken Weiner reviewed the GGNRA’s 2400 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Dog Management Plan (DEIS) and they provided extensive and substantive comments that were submitted to the GGNRA.
Below are links to the comments that CFDG submitted by Ken Weiner, our attorney,Tetra Tech, our environmental consultant and CFDG. Additionally, here is the link for all of the public comments submitted to the GGNRA regarding their Draft EIS/Dog Management Plan.
Additionally, the GGNRA has released ALL of the 5000 public comments, you can read them here:
In addition, CFDG held four public comment workshops in San Francisco and Marin counties, educating members and the public about how to best respond to the GGNRA 2400 page tome, worked closely with other dog and animal welfare groups such as the San Francisco SPCA, SF PAWS, and the Marin Humane Society as part of the San Francisco SPCA sponsored Eco-Dog coalition. Moreover, CFDG partnered with some newer individuals and groups who organized three rallies and the Mighty Mutt Strut in Marin and San Francisco. A lot of people volunteered their time and energy and we want to thank each and every person involved with this on-going and challenging effort to retain responsible off leash in the GGNRA, especially our NEPA angels. Again, we want to thank the San Francisco SPCA for their leadership role with the Eco-Dog coalition.
CFDG also created four videos as part of of our on-going educational outreach effort including two videos focusing on “How to write an effective comment letter to the GGNRA” and an overview of the NEPA process.
Martha Walters, CFDG’s Chair and Ken Weiner, CFDG’s Attorney, met with some representatves from House Minority Leader Pelosi and Senator Feinstein’s office in late May before the public comment period ended. Although a very brief trip, Martha and Ken discussed many concerns that they had with the GGNRA’s DEIS. One of our biggest concerns is that these 5000 public comments that the GGNRA received be reviewed by an independent team (different than the team that developed and wrote the DEIS) because there is an inherent bias within the National Park Service (NPS) and GGNRA against dogs. As of this writing, it is unclear if the NPS/GGNRA will do proceed with our request to use an independent team to review and develop a new preferred alternative.
Also, the US Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the GGNRA’s DEIS and gave the document an “Environmentally Insufficient” rating which means that the GGNRA needs to do a lot more homework to develop a scientific and technical basis to change the current dog management policy in the GGNRA. As the DEIS is written now, the GGNRA is unable to substantiate how dogs (or any other park visitor) impacts the environment, etc. Here is the link to the US EPA review:
http://www.epa.gov/region9/nepa/nat-prk-ser.html.What’s Next
During the next several months, the GGNRA will review and categorize all of the 5000 public comments that were submitted. Hopefully, as we stated and have requested, an independent team will evaluate the “substantive” comments and then develop a new preferred alternative based upon these public comments. After that segment of the process is completed, the GGNRA will released their Proposed Rule for Dog Management in late Fall of this year. The public will then have 30 days to comment on the Proposed Rule. The GGNRA anticipates that the the Dog Management Rule will be implemented by the Fall 2012. CFDG will keep you apprised of any new developments.
We encourage each and everyone of you to stay involved with this process…your voice and input really do and can make a difference!
June 28, 2011
We are joining many other dog groups from Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties advocating for you to call, email or fax your congressional members on JUNE 30th to let them know that you want the GGGNRA to evaluate the 5000 public comments in a fair manner. We have provided some sample language for the call-in date. The GGNRA’s internal review process is just beginning and we need your on-going support! Please tell your friends and family members to call, email or fax in too!
And many thanks to the CFDG members who have volunteered to fill in for Linda (who fills the doggie dispenser daily at Crissy Field) who is going on vacation in July.
Thank you,
The Crissy Field Dog Group
Here’s the information for the Call-in on JUNE 30th.
Vacation’s Over!
Thursday, June 30: Tell Congress We Need Their Help to Keep the GGNRA Dog Friendly
On June 30, one month will have passed since thousands of dog lovers submitted our public comments to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in response to its plan to severely restrict off-leash dog walking and dogs from many areas in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties. Let’s mark the one-month anniversary of the end of the public comment period by urging our federal officials to get involved on behalf of the thousands of Bay Area residents who want to preserve recreation for people—and dogs!—in the GGNRA.
TAKE ACTION: On Thursday, June 30, Phone, Email or Fax Your Members of Congress!
Please don’t let our members of Congress think our efforts to keep the Bay Area dog friendly are over! Phone, fax or email your Senators and Representative on June 30 to tell them we need them to get more involved in stopping the GGNRA from pushing through its anti-dog, anti-dog-owner agenda. Urge them to:
*Demand an independent analysis by the National Academy of Sciences or another respected scientific organization of the GGNRA’s draft environmental impact statement/dog management plan. Environmental impact statements are supposed to be based on rigorous scientific analyses, not assumptions and anecdotal evidence.
*Push the GGNRA to have an independent entity analyze the 5000 public comments submitted in response to the draft dog management plan. We cannot trust that GGNRA officials, who have dedicated the last few years of their lives to figuring out how to rid our recreation areas of dogs and dog lovers, will be objective in their analysis of the public comments submitted by the people who vehemently disagree with them. We need an independent analysis with full transparency!
*Speak out publicly against the National Park Service/GGNRA’s bias against responsible dog walking as a viable form of recreation.
P. S. If you didn’t have time to send the public comments you submitted to the GGNRA to your Senators and Representative, please send them now, as it is NEVER too late to be heard!
Endorsed by: Crissy Field Dog Group, Dog PAC, Fort Funston Dog Walkers, Keep Muir Beach Dog Friendly, Ocean Beach DOG, San Francisco ProDog, Save Off-Leash Dog Walking, SFDOG
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Senator Dianne Feinstein
click the “email me” button
Fax: (202) 228-3954
Phone: (415) 393-0707
Senator Barbara Boxer
click the “contact me” button, then click the email the Senator link on the left side of the page
Fax: (202) 224-0454
Phone: (202) 224-3553
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
click on “email me”
Phone: (202) 225-4965
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo
click on “By Email”
Fax: (202) 225-8890
Phone: (202) 225-8104
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
Fax: (202) 225-5163
Phone: (202) 225-5161
Congresswoman Jackie Speier
(note: Jackie Speier spoke out against the dog management plan at her telephone town hall meeting this month. Go Jackie!)
Fax: (202) 226-4183
Phone: (202) 225-3531
Not sure who your Congressperson is? Go to
Current Status of Dogwalking in the GGNRA
January 2011
The GGNRA released their draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on January 14, 2011. This Final EIS will lead to new dog-walking management rules at places in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, including Crissy Field. These rules will determine for years to come where you and your dog can go within the GGNRA, what you can do and how you can do it.
After an initial review of the GGNRA’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the GGNRA’s preferred alternative for Crissy Field includes off leash only at Central Beach and a portion of the Grassy Airfield. On leash would be allowed on the promenade. No dogs would be allowed on East or West Beaches.
Clearly, this is an extremely restrictive proposal and your public comment and support will be greatly needed. Since this is a draft document, we do have the ability to propose our own alternative.
You can access the DEIS on-line by going to www.nps.gov/goga and click onto the DEIS icon.The San Francisco SPCA will host a public meeting so you can learn about how to respond to the GGNRA’s preferred alternative from the DEIS on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The San Francisco SPCA is located at 16th and Alabama Streets.
The Crissy Field Dog Group has created a video which outlines and explains about how to respond to the draft EIS. Check
here for the video. Also, please go the
eco-dog website, sign up and get email alerts about the latest information regarding this process. Your participation is essential to keep our dogs in the GGNRA!
The GGNRA will host four Open House Style meetings during the 90-day public comment period which runs from January 14 to April 14, 2011. These public meetings are not hearings but an opportunity for you to discuss your interests and concerns about the 21 areas that the GGNRA is consideration for dog walking access within the GGNRA. The GGNRA will have 21 “stations” at these Open Houses so you can talk with a GGNRA representative and look at the PROPOSED preferred and other alternatives.
Your public comments are critical! Send your comments to:
The Superintendent, GGNRA
Building 201, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
or
These public meetings will be held at:
March 2nd from 4 to 8pm
Tam High School, Mill Valley, CA
March 5th from 11am to 4pm
SF State San Francisco, CA
March 7th from 4 to 8pm
GGNRA Headquarters
Building 201 Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA
March 9th from 4 to 8pm
Cabrillo High School
Pacifica, CA
Off-leash dog walking in the GGNRA is still in jeopardy.
Off-leash dog walking with dogs under voice control is currently allowed at Crissy Field and other specified areas of the GGNRA under the 1979 Pet Policy pursuant to a Federal Court ruling in June of 2005. Areas where you can have your dog under voice control at Crissy Field include the East and Central Beaches, the promenade and Crissy Air Field (the large grassy area). For the West Beach, dogs may be off-leash and under voice control from May 16 to June 30 of each year. From July 1 to May 15 there is a seasonal restriction for the Western Snowy Plover in the Wildlife Protection Area at the West Beach during which timeframe dogs must be on leash.
By way of background, the history of off-leash dog walking rights in the GGNRA dates back to the early 1970’s when the GGNRA was created as an urban recreational park. In the late 1970’s regulations applicable to federal lands, which prohibited certain traditional recreational park activities, were enforced. As a result, dog walking enthusiasts lobbied the park to relax off-leash rules in a few areas. In response, the GGNRA Citizen’s Advisory Committee held extensive hearings that led to the creation of the 1979 Pet Policy. The 1979 Pet Policy outlines off-leash rules and defines specific off-leash areas in San Francisco and Marin Counties, including portions of Crissy Field as indicated above.
In 1983, Congress mandated that all types of National Parks must abide by the same standard regulations but created the option of “special rules” for exceptions. The standard regulations regarding dogs in national parks basically restrict dogs to on-leash and in parking lots only.
The GGNRA continued to abide by the 1979 Pet Policy until 2001. In 2001, the Park Service began enforcing the leash law in all areas of the GGNRA based on the standard regulations applicable to national parks. This led to a lawsuit and eventually a ruling in June of 2005 by a Federal Magistrate, which upheld the 1979 Pet Policy.
The Park Service then began the process of creating a special rule relating to dog walking within the GGNRA. A Negotiated Rulemaking Committee was formed and met many times with the charter to work to develop consensus recommendations to the park about where it may be appropriate to allow dog walking within the GGNRA. Unfortunately, that process was not successful in reaching any consensus. The next phase of the dog management planning process is the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the dog management plan, which is now underway. When the DEIS is released it will be important to provide public comment on the alternatives provided by the document. At least until then it is expected that the 1979 Pet Policy will continue to guide dog walking practices within the GGNRA.
However, there are various threats (described more fully on the next page) to the current status, including House bill HR6305 introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in June of 2008 to change the name of the GGNRA, the provisions of the General Management Plan for the GGNRA currently being formulated, and the potential outcome of the GGNRA’s Dog Management Plan.
What can you do to help preserve and protect the ability to continue to walk dogs off-leash in the GGNRA?
- Join Crissy Field Dog Group – support our mission and help us to keep you informed.
- Support Crissy Field Dog Group with donations – financial support is especially needed for our legal fees that result from efforts to attain our mission.
- Be a responsible dog walker and clean up after your dog; don’t allow your dog to harass any persons or wildlife; carry a waste pick-up bag and a leash for your dog and leash your dog if it is not under your voice control; respect and protect natural resources; don’t allow your dog into restricted areas; follow all posted signage; don’t allow dogs to make an unreasonable amount of noise; and fill in any holes dug at the beach for the safety of persons and other dogs.
- Visit the CFDG website often to get updated information.
- Become involved – contact us at crissyfielddog1@aol.com
