Wildlife Photography

The following was sent to Commissioner Benepe on 9/26

September 25, 2006

Commissioner Adrian Benepe
City of New York/Department of Parks and Recreation The Arsenal 830 5th Avenue New York, NY 10021

Dear Commissioner Benepe:

New York City Audubon urges you to enforce the leash code that protects the natural areas and Forever Wild areas within city parks.

As you know, NYC Audubon is a grassroots community of over 10,000 members that works for the protection of wild birds and their habitat in the five boroughs, improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

Over the years, many of our members have shared stories about unleashed dogs trampling vegetation in natural areas. NYC Audubon is also aware that unleashed dogs subject birds and other wildlife to undue stress and occasionally unintended death. Unchecked, this problem leads to severe habitat degradation in all parks but particularly in Central, Prospect, Marine, and Pelham Bay Parks.

NYC Audubon believes strongly that birds and wildlife in our parks should not be subject to harassment by dogs. Nor should our members and others who enjoy viewing birds and wildlife have their enjoyment disrupted by free-running dogs.

Throughout your tenure with NYC Parks you have been a friend of birders and an advocate for birds. You have also shown an ability to create win-win solutions.

NYC Audubon counts on you to enforce the leash code that protects the natural environment, while considering the needs of New York City's dog owners. We will follow this issue closely to see how it develops.

Sincerely,


E. J. McAdams
Executive Director

E. J. McAdams
Executive Director
New York City Audubon
71 West 23rd Street, Room 1523
New York, NY 10010
Phone: (212) 691-7483
Fax: (212) 924-3870
ejmcadams@nycaudubon.org
www.nycaudubon.org

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 9/26/2006 08:57:00 PM | Permalink   

For a histrionic view of the off-the-leash problem (or lack thereof) visit: http://www.nycoffleash.com/html/threat.htm

An exchange of e-mails with Susan Buckley, NYC PAWS. . .

(9/9/06) I sent my reply last week and have not heard from her since.

Dear Mr. Vornberger:

As a grt admirer of your photography and a great believer in the absolute necessity of keeping dogs from disturbing the wildlife in the park we both love, I want to respond to your blog about offleash dogs in the woodlands.

Thank you, first of all, for noting that "most dog owners abide by the leash laws." Part of what Central Park PAWS attempts to do, is to work with and educate that percentage of dog owners who do NOT abide by the laws. Both the dog owners and the Conservancy staff (including Maria Hernandez) who make up the Steering Committee of PAWS communicate to dog owners the critical nature of abiding by the rules that limit just where dogs can be offleash. (You can find out more about Central Park PAWS, the voice of the Central Park dog community at www.centralparkpaws.org.)

I would very much like to meet with you at some point soon to see how PAWS can work with you and others in the bird community to better educate dog owners about how their actions can either protect or harm the park's wildlife. For example, PAWS would like to make a specific effort to stop the offleash dogs in the Wildflower Meadows that you describe. (Where in the park are those meadows? Are they part of the East or North meadow areas?)

I hope that you will call or email me so that we can work together to make co-existence in the park a much more successful venture!

Sincerely,
Susan Buckley

Susan Buckley President, Central Park PAWS
140 East 83rd Street
New York, NY 10028
212-988-2811
swbuc@aol.com



Susan:

The Wildflower Meadow is in the North End of the Park. It is planted with native plants and is a magnet for migrating birds. The Cardinal Flowers (many recently broken and trampled by off-leash dogs are a favorite of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Other wildflowers in the meadow attract finches, grosbeaks, and warblers. The area is also designated “Forever Wild” by the Parks Department and, as such, no dogs are allowed off the leash there ever.

One of the problems with the north end of the park (which Parks and the Conservancy have been slow to understand) is that the rapidly changing demographic in the area has brought a flood of affluent New Yorkers to the neighborhood. Quite a few members of this group own large dogs and feel their dogs deserve to run free (despite signs, admonishments, etc.) They are the ones who are ruining the park for all of us. Many people, including myself, have lost patience trying to explain to recalcitrant dog owners why they should leash their dogs in the “Forever Wild” areas. The cursing, threats, and general bad behavior exhibited by these dog owners does not reflect well on the dog-owning community.

I have raised this issue at every meeting of the Woodland’s Advisory Committee I have attended and have been told by exasperated staff that it is an enforcement problem and when they ask for help from PEP their pleas are ignored. This has gone on for so long that we are beginning to believe the theory, first put forth by Marie Winn, that the Conservancy has no interest in leash law enforcement since many of the largest donors are dog owners who would prefer their dogs roam unfettered in Central Park. Because of the lack of enforcement in the North End of the park (and elsewhere) the situation continues to worsen.

I don’t know what your group can do to improve it because without enforcement it’s not going to get better. If you have any ideas I suggest you bring them to the Regina Alvarez (Woodland Manager, Central Park Conservancy.) You might also want to attend a Woodland’s Advisory Committee meeting and explain to the members of the committee what your organization is doing to help with the problem.

Personally, I have given up on Central Park. I used to go into the park almost every day but since the dog situation has gone critical I longer find it an enjoyable experience.

Regards,

Cal Vornberger

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 9/05/2006 11:57:00 AM | Permalink