I have been asked to remind mountain bikers about the requirement for dogs to be on leash at all times in State Parks. This includes mountain bikers. It is prohibited to have your dog off leash on the mountain bike trails. I get complaints from mountain bikers about hikers with dogs off of leash. So it is only fair that mountain bikers be held to the same rules. From State Park’s point of view there are two issues with dogs off of leash. 1) User conflict. Off leash dogs create user conflict. Even if you dog is well behaved, it is unfair for other park users to have to encounter your off leash dog. Not all park users are comfortable around off leash dogs, especially those who have dogs with them and are following the leash rules. 2) Of leash dogs negatively impact the wild life. Please expect this rule to be enforced at Brown County State Park. We had an incident this weekend where a group of riders had 3 off leash dogs. The Assistant Park Manager stopped and reminded them of the leash rules. He doubted that they were going to follow the park rules so he stopped further up the trail. Not only did they have the dogs off leash, but the Assistant Park Manger could hear them saying derogatory things about him. Due to their disrespect of park rules and for park staff, conservation officers were called. Unfortunately they were diverted to an accident and were unable to ticket the riders. The ticket for dogs off leash is $150. Do to this incident; it is very likely that Conservation Officers will be out on the trails issuing tickets for dogs off leash. This applies to all State Parks. If you see riders with dogs off leash, please let them know that they will be ticketed if found with their dog off leash. Of course the most disturbing part of this is the disrespect shown for Park Staff. The Park staff at Brown County State Park have been very supportive of mountain biking and we expect mountain bikers to be respectful of park staff and follow any instructions they give park users.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:26:03 +0000
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