Apparently a large number of the people who answered the online EBRPD Master Plan survey said they want dogs on-leash in most places in the parks.

But there is still time to respond to that survey and at least make the
numbers better… Please get everyone you know to weigh in!

If you support off-leash dog areas please take the time to fill out the survey!

Dog related questions are near the very end of the survey. Be sure to complete the whole survey and submit.

http://www.ebparks.org/planning/mp/survey

As an animal lover, I completely support a club that wants to protect animal habitats. That’s why I’m confused. Some of my dog’s favorite habitats are the off-leash parks around San Francisco Bay. Now I hear that the Sierra Club wants to change her access to some of these parks….

That’s where the Albany Bulb comes in. We hear there’s a movement afoot to forbid off-leash access to the Albany Bulb. I don’t know what the details are, but we were emailed a message that the park’s off-leash status was in peril. Seems that the Sierra Club has some issues, but dogs and human companions have needs too. I want to be even-handed about this, so if you want to get information about both sides of the off-leash issue…

Read the Full Article at AlbanyPatch.com

Photo Credit Emilie Raguso

The The Feb. 17 workshop, the second such meeting for the public, was held in the park district’s boardroom at 2950 Peralta Oaks Ct. in Oakland. Chris Barton, a senior planner for the district, opened the event by outlining three progressively elaborate possibilities for beach development.

Estimated costs range from about $1 million—for basic shoreline stabilization, improved beach access for the disabled, and some dune and wetland enhancements—to more than $7 million.

The bells-and-whistles plan offered more shoreline stabilization options, including sand placement to help the area weather erosion; a pocket beach near the Bulb; a second access point for the disabled; a boardwalk; and a second picnic area.

District staff members said none of the three options is set in stone, and that pieces of each could be mixed and matched depending on public interest, money available and ultimate land use goals.

Read the full story at AlbanyPatch.com

2. The State has a 28-billion dollar budget deficit. Transforming the BULB into an officially sanctioned recreation area would require tens of millions of dollars to upgrade roads, street lighting, pathways, signage, sanitary facilities and parking. The BULB would have to be closed to public for years to come in order to effect these changes.

3. As it now stands, Mother Nature in her own time and her own way is reclaiming this small piece of real estate – mitigating years of abuse by humankind, healing the toxic sores and soothing over heavy-metal wounds. Wildlife is returning to the waters around the BULB and to the skies above. Humankind with our political compromises and back office dealings have clearly demonstrated an inability to conceive of and carry out long term plans to the benefit of posterity and to all life with whom we share this planet. We have proven ourselves to be but short-sited, selfish little creatures.

4. The coastlines along both sides of the road, around the perimeter of the BULB proper, and along “the lagoon” are a perfect place for canine aquatic activity but too hazardous to be suitable for human recreation. There is no practical way of reclaiming these shorelines for human activity.

5. Environmental progress and reclamation of the BULB up to this point has occurred as a result of NON-government intervention! No chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides have been introduced to the area: making it exemplary of the “organic” process by which natural forces reclaim the land. Gradually, pioneer species of flora have established a foothold at the BULB. Other second and third-phase plants have naturally been followed as the conditions have improved along with a variety of animal life. Government intervention will introduce chemicals that will arrest this natural process: killing plants and animals alike. The run-off from these chemicals and fertilizers will drive off and kill shore birds, predator birds, migratory birds and other sea creatures.

6. Should the State and Park District attempt to transform the BULB into a officially-sanctioned recreational area, the nature of the BULB: the numerous hazards of sharp, dangerous and toxic debris would open the State to an immediate and never-ending string of law suits from injuries incurred in normal recreation. The State would then by necessity respond by closing off the entire area baring public use.

7. The only example of government intervention at the BULB, the fenced-in area on the “upper meadow” set aside as a habitat for the Burrowing Owls, is a complete failure. This project demonstrates governments’ inability to manage even a well-intentioned restoration projects. The project was expensive to implement, is expensive to maintain and has done nothing other than remove from public use a valuable resource and create a fire-hazard maintenance problem. NOT ONE SINGLE OWL HAS MADE ITS’ HOME THERE!

8. Records of crime statistics demonstrate that the BULB, potentially a high-crime area next to a gambling facility, separated from the main body of the City of Albany by both a freeway and an expansive parking lot, is virtually crime-free and safe at all hours of the day and night. All policing activities otherwise the responsibility of the municipality are successfully performed by the off-leash dog guardian community with only minimal oversight by the Albany Police Department. Get rid of the dogs and you invite crime!

9. Bay Area weather patterns and tidal currents are such that the beach at the BULB is the natural depository for flotsam and jetsam- ocean debris from throughout the San Francisco Bay. The off-leash dog guardian community regularly maintains the beach- monitoring and correcting potential hazards and picking up trash such that the beach is virtually litter-free. To replicate this level of waste management with government resources would be cost-prohibitive to the State.

We have healed this place; don’t allow them to spoil it!
Gary Rosenberg / garyrosenberg@gmail.com