Archive of documents to keep recreational dog walking throughout the GGNRA
Here is a brief summary of the history of dog walking in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and CFDG’s involvement with the GGNRA’s Dog Management legal and technical issues since 2000.
GGNRA Enabling Legislation
In 1972, the United States Congress established the GGNRA, which encompasses most of the coastal land (and some interior areas) in Marin and San Francisco Counties. A group of local activists banded together to address the recreational needs of an urban population in the open spaces of the San Francisco Bay Area by designating the GGNRA as the first urban recreation area as part of the National Park Service system. The U.S. House and Senate reports for this bill clearly identified dog walking as an important visitor use as part of the GGNRA. In the 1990s, GGNRA acquired additional lands in San Mateo county. The total acreage of GGNRA is approximately 80,000 acres.
GGNRA Enabling legislation: link
GGNRA 1979 Pet Policy
When the original founders created the GGNRA in 1972, they intended off-leash dog walking to be one of its primary purposes. A reasonable and thoughtful dog management policy was agreed upon in 1979, known as the 1979 Pet Policy. It defined specific and limited areas for off-leash recreation and established certain reasonable standards of dog behavior and obedience of dog walking in the GGNRA.
1979 Pet Policy: link
GGNRA Pet Policy Rescinded, CFDG Established
In 2001, the GGNRA Advisory Board (a Citizens Advisory Board for the GGNRA that ended in 2002) rescinded the 1979 Pet Policy unilaterally, without gathering any public input in their decision. There was a massive public outcry and a lot of media attention drawn by this decision.
CFDG relationships with the San Francisco Bay Congressional Delegation
CDFG has established good working professional relationships with Speaker Pelosi’s, Congresswoman Speier’s and Congressman Huffman’s offices.
Congresswoman Speier has been the most vocal and supportive champion of this important cause. Beginning in 2015, she introduced three limitation amendments in Congress over several years to stop the funding of the GGNRA’s Dog Management Plan but each limitation amendment was stopped by Speaker Pelosi’s office.
Additionally, Congresswoman Speier made a major effort to work with the GGNRA and NPS and made some viable suggestions such as creating a Recreation Roundtable Committee and endorsing, as a useful model, the City of Boulder, Colorado’s Green Tag Program. All proposals were rejected by the GGNRA.
CFDG Outreach Efforts
Over the course of the past twenty years, we have worked with other dog groups (and their dedicated members) including Fort Funston Dog Walkers, Montara Dog Group, Marin Unleashed, Cal Dog, SF DOG, Coastside Dog, Save Our Recreation, and Marin County Dog as well as SF Boardsailors, SF SPCA, Marin Humane, and other GGNRA user groups.
In addition, CFDG partnered with Fort Funston Dog Walkers, Marin Unleashed, Montara Dog Group, Marin Humane and the SF SPCA in creating Eco-Dog for several years during the environmental review process. The SF SPCA held several workshops for the public with CFDG and our environmental consultants and attorney on how best to respond to the three versions of the GGNRA’s Environmental Impact Statements.
We coordinated our efforts with other dog advocate groups to have call-in days to our congressional delegations, local county Board of Supervisors, peaceful marches at Crissy Field, etc. Their incredible involvement and grassroots efforts have help us all stand up to the GGNRA’s divisive bias against dog walking on land designated for recreation by all citizen, including those with dogs.
Educational outreach and creation of the Crissy Field Dog Rinse Station
The SF SPCA in partnership with CFDG and the GGNRA have offered very successful Open Space Dog Etiquette classes at Crissy Field. Additionally, CFDG worked closely with the SF Boardsailors and the GGNRA in purchasing and building the Crissy Field Dog Rinse station which is adjacent to the bathrooms at East Beach.
Moreover, for the past twenty years, CFDG has purchased and provided doggie bags that our very dedicated volunteers have put in all of the dispensers at Crissy Field on a daily basis. Every day is a cleanup at Crissy Field.
CFDG is very committed in making sure that dog walking in the GGNRA remains in all three counties on GGNRA lands. It is now up to Speaker Pelosi to lead her constituents and other Bay Area residents in sponsoring and finalizing legislation to uphold the 1979 Pet Policy and add the areas in San Mateo for off leash access in perpetuity.