Seasonal dog ban intact for Upper Truckee Marsh
By Kathryn Reed
Dogs are allowed in the Upper Truckee Marsh area – for now.
Unless the California Tahoe Conservancy board suspends the summer seasonal ban, it will remain in effect indefinitely. For now, that appears to be what will happen.
Blame it on locals.
Dogs like AJ are allowed in the Upper Truckee Marsh area if on leash. Photo/LTN file
“Eighty-five percent of citations and warnings issued by law enforcement were issued to local residents, with local being defined as a resident in the South Lake Tahoe-Stateline area,” Dana Dapolito, associate environmental planner with the CTC, told the board last week.
The Conservancy owns the 311 acres in South Lake Tahoe. Trout Creek, which flows into Lake Tahoe, runs through the property. This is prime habitat for wildlife, mainly birds.
Dogs off-leash are the problem. They ruin habitat, destroy nests, kill birds and stress out the birds. To protect the area, the CTC board in July 2010 approved the temporary dog ban from May 1-July 31.
While this has caused much controversy with people in the Al Tahoe neighborhood and others who access the land, no one from the public spoke at the meeting.
With winter lingering into June this year, about six weeks of data was collected. In that time period, El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies issued 86 warnings or citations and the county’s Animal Control officers handed out 21 citations.
Even though dogs are now allowed to be on the property, all must be on leash. That is not happening, according to Dapolito.
She told the board that in August the agency’s land stewards said 75 percent of dog walkers were complying with the law, with locals accounting for nearly 100 percent of those violating the rule.
The Conservancy wants multiple years of data on avian counts in the marsh and to study shorebirds to know if fewer (ideally no) dogs in the habitat area help the birds. About three years is also the time period law enforcement says it takes to change human behavior – as in following the rules or going elsewhere.
This was an informational item for the board, with no action proposed.
What a joke. They never even gave this a chance. And now, a lot less people will be enjoying this beautiful area.
The Conservancy did a horrible job at educating the public as to why the closure was “necessary” (and whether it was necessary at all is debatable).
Do they have any numbers to compare to the east cove where dogs are allowed year-round? No. Who’s to say there aren’t more dogs off-leash there? Just from personal experience, I’m far more likely to see a dog off-leash when I go there versus staying nearby in the upper truckee meadow. Yet, that’s open year-round for dogs-on-leash. Where’s the consistency in policy?
Is there any hard science that shows that dogs are disturbing nesting areas (and not coyotes)? If there is, they haven’t released it.
Why not consider the permit idea that had been discussed? Oh, wait…that’s too logical.
Basically, the few lucky people who live on the uppper truckee meadow are one step closer to getting their wish of turning it in to a private oasis. And people who live in and visit that al tahoe area and want to go for nice walks with their families, will now be going elsewhere.
I think it is a sad life to be a dog-hating tree hugger. You people at the Conservancy that came up with this brilliant “science” need to go back to San Francisco.
The bigger problem to wildlife in the meadow is the coyote population which seems to have spiraled out of control since dog-walking was suspended.
I agree with Maria. The coyotes have no predators. They are overrunning the meadow (and Tahoe in general) and growing bigger and bolder. If you don’t deal with their population, your precious birds will all be gone too. In areas people and dogs frequent, so do the birds. Note the doggoned goose population in the keys!
In the snow season, I picked up enough dog poop to fill a 5-gallon bucket on the East Cove trail. This summer, I’ve been happy to see very little dog poop. Why is that? I’m guessing the dogs who are unleashed in the summer are pooping in the meadow areas and in the winter stay on the snow packed trail with their owners.
People with dogs need to take responsibility for them.
Jenny, I completely agree – dog owners need to be more responsible. But education along with enforcement with fines is the way to rectify this problem. Not closing areas off to people who were respecting the meadow to being with.
The Conservancy’s own observer noted that the vast majority of dog-owners in the Upper Truckee March are complying with the leash-law. Funny how they didn’t release that info for this article…but, that is the fact.
So, the end result is punishing law-abiding locals and visitors rather than doing more to educate and enforce existing laws.
Frustrated: reread the article before mouthing off … it says: She told the board that in August the agency’s land stewards said 75 percent of dog walkers were complying with the law, with locals accounting for nearly 100 percent of those violating the rule.
I’m sorry I missed that in there…but, how does that change my point? The FACT is the vast majority of people are complying with the leash law.
So, this misguided policy negatively impacts this large majority. This isn’t the right approach.
And, as you point out “Try again”, it’s locals that are the problem…you know how to fix it quite simply? Cite and fine them. Hit people in their wallet, and you’ll see more people comply. Locals are here year-round so they’re not likely to risk incurring multiple fines.
If you went that route, the majority of locals that are complying don’t get preemptively punished.
And, something important to think about, why punish the visitors to the area that aren’t the problem?
There are a lot of house rentals in the Al Tahoe area. People love to vacation in this area and take their dog with them for walks in Upper Truckee Meadow. With our economy in as fragile a state as it is, why would we give them another reason to spend those 3 months somewhere other than South Lake Tahoe?
Don’t coyotes usually do all their business at night when the birds have already gone into hiding?
tcr, I’d think that’s the case more often than not that coyote hunt at night…but have definitely seen coyote stalking prey during the day in the meadow – even saw one make a kill not far from us in daylight.
And, I’ve seen plenty of feathers/remnants from coyote kills so they seem to be finding these “hiding” spots whether it’s by day or night.
What I think is more relevant to this policy discussion is that I’ve yet to hear of a single dog killing birds in the meadow.
Heck, I’ve seen more kids chasing ducks and geese than I have dogs.
And, there’s been no scientific studies that show that dogs in the meadow are disrupting these nesting grounds.
One would think the Conservancy wouldn’t make sweeping policy changes without hard science. But in this case, it seems pressure from a few individuals who live on the meadow is the major influence in this decision. And, after listening to those people at a public meeting on the issue this spring, it’s clear their goal is to keep the meadow as private as possible…and that’s a shame.
I think that most of the dog owners in tahoe are kind law abiding people but so many think that since they are locals they dont have to follow the rules. I have seen more dogs off leash running into kids/families/business/grocery stores/and the owners jsut say, Hey my dog is cool!!!!!
Your dog is not cool and Id much rather see birds in the marsh than some ones dog running loose. If you own a dog try to be responsible and set examples to those that seem to think they dont have to follow the rules
People who keep their dogs on leashes know when their dogs poop. They’re more likely to clean up after their dogs because they are people who follow rules and obey laws. The path from the parking lot to Kiva beach has at least 50 piles of dog poop lining it and that’s just what’s right next or in the path. Dog owners need to pick up after their dogs and probably after others’ dogs also and all dogs need to be on leashes when they’re not at home or at the dog park.
you know local girl, I agree…Dog owners should be more responsible. And, it’d be great if responsible dog owners encouraged others to do the same…some will, some prefer to avoid “confrontation”. And that’s ok too. I can understand that.
But what’s not ok is instituting sweeping policy changes that negatively affect the vast majority of law-complying dog owners.
I don’t want to ban cars from driving on Pioneer Trail just because some people choose to break the law and speed. Speeding can be dangerous. Yet, we don’t decide to ban driving all-together. We try to enforce laws with law-enforcement agencies we have in place.
That’s the simple solution here. Fine people who break the leash-law in the meadow. Most locals I know, aren’t rich. If a dog owner gets a ticket or two, you’re likely to see them change their ways.
It looks like enforcement has been stepped up this season and this article talks about the tickets that have been given out. Well, that’s great…keep giving them out…wait a year and see if things are better. The common sense thing to do would’ve been to step up enforcement before ever instituting the 3-month ban earlier this year.
But instead, the Conservancy decided to drastically reduce the number of people who will enjoy this beautiful treasure for half the time the meadow is snow-free. And again, they didn’t do so because of good science – they bowed to pressure from a few vocal homeowners that want the meadow to themselves.
Hefty fines would send the message. I’m not sure where our budget stands in paying for enforcement. Threat of fines without strong enforcement wouldn’t work. But, the fines need to be high. I think it was $75 on the American River Parkway. Funds generated from fines could help pay for enforcement. How many of you have actually seen someone out enforcing the rule? Are there any stats on how many hours were spent enforcing?
I’ve seen El Dorado County Sheriffs out there and Animal Control. I believe there are other entities involved as well. And they have been out in force this year. The fines are high – much higher than $75, though I don’t know how many warnings they’re issuing versus actual fines.
But there’s no doubt that if the problem is as big as the Conservancy is claiming, then the money from fines would more than pay for enforcement.
And what of the crows that attack in mass the eagles and hawks. They also go after the birds and ground rodents. The hawks are almost nonexistant out there now.
Dog poop should be picked up. It is very bad for water quality. But– are there signs encouraging that?Are there receptacles for disposing of dog poop bags? Where I live now (lived in Tahoe 18years)poop bags are provided and multiple trash cans as well, emptied regularly.
As for birds, I’d be willing to bet that it’s the burgeoning coyote population that is doing them in.
It’s not just the $200 fine, it’s a misdemeanor on your record. (The same as prostitution, DUI, selling a baby and grand larceny.) My dog stays on the trail, I pick up the poop, just don’t get the big deal and why everyone is so uptight over dogs offleash … now pet waste, I can understand … especially in a sensitive environmental area that drains to the lake. But this definitely has not been documented or studied enough to warrant this heavy-handed approach! Dogs aren’t killing birds, that is so rare, but it makes for good hysteria.