Jgifford

I hope your article will encourage more responsibility on the part of dog owners, but I tend to agree with the writer who suggested a hefty fine and payment of medical bills is the best way to get the owners' attention. The only way this can happen is if you get the info at the scene and report it. As a dog owner I resent the irresponsible owners who allow aggressive and/or untrained dogs to be off leash or at a dog park. They make it difficult for those of us who are responsible.

Actually I was at the original meeting when a ski friendly dog trail was mentioned by a forest service representative. He felt Swampy was underused and it might be possible to cut a new trail at one end of the area that would not interfere with existing trails. We even discussed a designated dog handler parking area to separate users with dogs from other users. I'm not sure how it evolved to a belief that DogPac wanted the whole forest. Speaking of the whole forest. It is true that only a small area is dog restricted, but the reality is that most of the other 95% of the forest isn't acessible in the winter. Parking is not legal on Century or FS45. There are parking areas at Wanoga and Edison, but often there isn't enough snow cover at these lower elevations. Also there is the issue of skiing with snowmobiles which is a little unnerving. DogPac has 1200 members which indicates there is a need to provide areas where users with dogs can recreate safely.Central Oregon Nordic Skiers has a membership of 130, although as we've seen they are vociferous and committed. Swampy is an underused area so maybe there is room for a separate ski trail there. If you would check out the DogPac Website you will see a list of all the areas in the US and Canada that have dog friendly ski trails. There are quite a few. Also I would invite you to come to my side of the road and ski the 3km loop with us. Many people who use the trail there do not have dogs and we all seem to get along. Finally I'd like to thank you for suggesting that we work together to find a Separate but Equal area to ski with our dogs. Jan Gifford

Way to go. More bike paths.....less chip seal.