Park Service delays plan for dogs at GGNRA

The dog management plan for Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which has been fought over as vigorously as a scrap of prime filet at a dog park, is on hold for the indefinite future.

Instead of signing off on last month’s supposedly final version of a document that has been in the works since 2002, the National Park Service released a statement late Monday saying it will delay any decision on when to implement the plan.

The statement comes as the federal agency reviews emails being produced in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from dog owners who don’t want to lose access to trails and beaches where they now can let their pets run free. The request dates back to 2015, but plan opponents filed suit in April to speed up the pace of release.

“I think they’ve finally taken a concerted look at what has surfaced,” said Chris Carr, a partner at the law firm Morrison & Foerster, which is representing dog owner groups opposed to the plan. “My view is that the process has been fatally tainted by the bad-faith conduct of the GGNRA and its staff.”

In some cases, Carr said, emails haven’t been released because park service employees claim to have forgotten passwords to systems where older ones are stored.

The emails released so far include sarcastic comments by employees about opponents of the tightened restrictions — such as one staffer’s presumably flippant suggestion that he broke his middle finger “expressing my opinion of out of control off leash dog visitors.”

The park service statement that “we are putting on hold ... the publication of the Final

Rule on Dog Management” also follows letters asking for a delay on final action until February from three Bay Area congressional members, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).

The legislators didn’t mention emails but asked for an extension because, in Pelosi’s words, “a longer waiting period will provide community members with ample time to review the contents of the final rule.”

The current version of the plan follows an environmental review process that generated more than 15,000 public comments. Among the proposed changes are that 2.8 miles of the recreation area’s beaches will be open to dogs, compared with 7.2 miles at present.

While many dog-owners resist such limitations, other park advocates say that they are needed to protect native plants and wildlife in the 100,000-acre-plus recreation area, which extends along much of the Bay Area coast.