We Educate and Advocate for our members
20 years and counting!

Crissy Field and other areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) are well known world class places to recreate with your doggies off-leash.

The GGNRA is home to many world class off leash areas in places in the San Francisco Bay area, in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

Unfortunately, the GGNRA has been tone deaf in their ability to recognize and accept that dog walking was and continues to be a hugely popular activity and what the GGNRA founders supported in their enabling legislation in 1972.

And so, it began…

When the GGNRA Advisory Board (a Citizens Advisory Board to the GGNRA-ended in 2002) rescinded the 1979 Pet Policy in 2001 without any public notice and comment, there was a very contentious hearing at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio where thousands of people attended in the pouring rain to protest this unilateral decision.

CDFG has a long history of educating and advocating for our doggies and people. 

After this horrendous hearing, six people gathered at a home in San Francisco whom were very concerned about the future of dog walking at places like Crissy Field. 

• Martha Walters and Joan Boothe, CFDG co-founders, quickly found that thousands of dog walking advocates in and around San Francisco were extremely concerned about the GGNRA’s anti-dog position and soon formed CFDG in 2001.

• Since 2001, CFDG, with a substantial member base, has led the way in the legal and political landscape of participating in the GGNRA’s Negotiated Rulemaking and subsequent Environmental Review process (NEPA).

• CFDG has collaborated with our Congressional delegation, the San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo Board of Supervisors, SF SPCA, Marin Humane, SF Boardsailors and the other dog groups in the area about this complex land use issue.

• Groups such as SF Dog, Marin Unleashed, Montara Dog, and others led the grass roots efforts in publicly protesting the GGNRA inherent cultural bias towards dog walking during the environmental review process.

Learn about CFDG’s involvement with the GGNRA’s Dog Management legal and technical issues since 2000 here.