Volunteers needed!

What: Volunteer Opportunity Where: Parley’s Historic Nature Park

When: Saturday October 22, 2011, 10:00 am to 11:30 am Join Salt Lake City and citizens to improve Parley’s Historic Nature Park!

• Native plant restoration
• Weed pull

Address:  2740 S 2700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Directions: From I-80 E, exit 2300 E. Make the first left onto S 2700 E, continue ½ mile.

Parking is available at Tanner Park.

Please wear appropriate attire including gloves, pants, closed-toe shoes, hat, and sun block and bring a water bottle.

Thanks from your friends, http://millcreekfidos.org | http://fidosfoundation.org

Salt Lake City Mayoral and Council elections are coming up quickly and FIDOS will be hosting a CANDIDATE FORUM.  Here is your chance to learn how the candidates feel about open space where we can exercise “off leash” with our dogs.

WHEN – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th – 7:00 PM

WHERE – SPRAGUE (SUGAR HOUSE) BRANCH LIBRARY (Basement Meeting Room) – 2131 S 1100 E

WHY – Mayor Becker’s management plan has seriously restricted the space that we can use in PARLEYS (TANNER) PARK. Councilmembers Van Turner and JT Martin voted for the restrictions.

• We finally have a chance to ask WHY???
• WHY was there such little communication with our user group?
• WHY don’t you consider “off leash” users as important user group?
• WHY is the huge need for more space not considered?
• HOW do the other candidates feel about it?

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE INCUMBENTS AND CANDIDATES REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS TO US – BE SURE TO ATTEND, BRING YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND PASS THE WORD!!  SEE YOU THERE!!

Your Friends at FIDOS

www.FIDOSFoundation.org / www.MillcreekFIDOS.org

FIDOS will be holding it’s annual CANDIDATE FORUM on Monday, September 26th, at 6:30 PM, in the basement meeting room at the Sprague (Sugar House) Library – 2131 S 1100 E.

Candidates for Salt Lake City Mayor and Council will be there and this is your chance to ask them about their vote on the Parleys (Tanner) Management Plan that significantly reduced the amount of space where our members can recreate with their dogs “off leash”.

Mayor Becker has indicated that he will be in attendance along with Councilmembers JT Martin, Van Turner and Carlton Christensen, all of whom voted FOR the Mayor’s Plan. Meet the candidates who are running against these incumbents and find out what their feelings are about the issue.

It is important that elected officials realize that our user group consists of their constituents, residents who value open space and MUST be recognized as an deserving user group. It is not acceptable to us that space is continually taken away and that we are shut out of discussions and decisions.

Come and meet the Candidates, ask your questions and let them know your concerns and issues.

See you there!!! Your friends at FIDOS – www.MillcreekFIDOS.org www.FIDOSFoundation.org

PLEASE BE VERY CERTAIN TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AND DOGS UNDER CONTROL AND WATCH THEM CLOSELY ALONG ANY LOCAL STREAMS. THE WATER IS RUNNING EXTREMELY HIGH AND SWIFTLY. IT IS ALSO VERY COLD.

IF YOUR DOG IS A WATER DOG, PLEASE STAY COMPLETELY AWAY FROM THE STREAMS OR KEEP THEM LEASHED!! EVEN SHALLOW WADING IN EDDIES FOR A DRINK IS UNSAFE!!!

DON’T EVEN TRY GOING INTO THE WATER TO SAVE YOUR DOG IF IT DOES FALL IN. THE CURRENTS ARE SIMPLY TOO STRONG AND THE STRONGEST PERSON IS SIMPLY NO MATCH. GO DOWNSTREAM AND TRY TO FIND SPOTS WHERE HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN OUT, AND ASK OTHER PEOPLE IN THE AREA FOR HELP. BUT STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER.

PLEASE PASS THE WORD, THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN WAY, WAY TOO MANY DOGS PUT IN PERIL AND WAY, WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE MOURNING THE LOSS OF THEIR CANINE FAMILY MEMBER!!

www.MillcreekFIDOS.org

Dear FIDOS,

Last week the Salt Lake County Council considered exciting new ordinance changes. These changes were positively received and should be approved this week at their Tuesday meeting. FIDOS board members met with the Animal Services Director Shawni Larrabee and based on the conversation, fully endorsed the proposal.

This week on Tuesday, March 5th, the Salt Lake City Council will be considering similar changes. We encourage everyone to contact their councilmembers and Mayor Becker and ask them to support the proposal.

Here are the main points of the proposal and some explanation of our support:
1 – REMOVAL OF LIMITS OF PETS ALLOWED PER RESIDENCE
2 – CAT LICENSING
3 – HIGHER PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE
4 – SIX MONTH FREE TEMPORARY LICENSE FOR NEW PETS
5 – MICROCHIP AT NO COST WITH ANY LICENSE

These changes are based on a licensing program modeled after Calgary, Canada. The return rate for lost pets in Calgary is close to 80% due to stringent licensing requirements. The proposal emphasizes responsible pet ownership and pet safety along with developing a better interaction between pet owners and animal services. For example, pets who are picked up can be immediately identified and when possible would be returned home directly without being taken to the shelter.

This concept applies to cats as well as dogs. Many FIDOS members’ families include cats as well as dogs. It is important that these feline family members have the same protection as canine members.
We were also impressed with the emphasis on mediation and communication rather than strong enforcement.

You can view the City Council agenda at:
http://www.slcgov.com/council/agendas/2011agendas/April5/04052011.pdf
We encourage your support for this proposal, please let your elected officials know.

Your Friends at MillcreekFIDOS
www.MillcreekFIDOS.org

Dear FIDOS -

Thanks to everyone for all of their help with writing letters, attending meetings and letting Salt Lake City officials know that there is a huge need for areas where their citizens can go to get exercise with their dogs “off leash”. Unfortunately, last Tuesday’s decision by the Salt Lake City Council to adopt Mayor Becker’s management plan places severe restrictions on available off leash space in Parleys Park (Tanner) without providing additional space to replace what has been taken away.

We are very disappointed in the outcome of this long and exhausting process. We thank Councilmembers Soren Simonsen and Luke Garrott for their unwavering support and understanding. Councilmembers Jill Remington-Love and Stan Penfold were willing to spend time with us and listen to our concerns.

Now that we have experienced this major set-back we need to set our sights to the future and how we as a group can best advocate for our needs. Unfortunately, our collective voices have been dismissed as just so much “public clamor” and has been turned against us. The few who spoke out too loudly or rudely have become the hallmark of the entire group. FIDOS has become a group to be dismissed as a bunch of activists, we must return to being the advocacy group for our cause.

We are a group of people who deeply care for the environment, we ask for the ability to recreate with our family members in open areas. We have shown that we are willing to work to improve an off leash space and to partner with government if given the chance. We need to continue to work toward that goal.

In the meantime, we now have specific sections of Parleys that are designated “off leash” with the possibility of additional “on leash” trails in the future. We understand that these restrictions will cause increased congestion in the allowed area and will magnify the impact. We ask that everyone please abide by the new rules and encourage others to do so as well. Please continue to pick up any dog waste you encounter and carry it out to the garbage cans in the parking lot. This is huge, one of the main reasons that Councilmembers Van Turner and Carlton Christensen voted against us is because water sampling showed problems with water quality on one day during the last year. Even though it was a single day and counts throughout the remainder of the year stayed well before allowable levels, we as a group care deeply about water quality. Our main message has been consistent, clean up after your dog.

Implementation of the new plan will be gradual as funding becomes available but you should see signs very soon.

The County Sheriff will be continuing his “Care and Share” program and will be enforcing posted rules. The data thus far has been good, people are obeying the rules. Keep up the good work!!

Thanks again to eveyone who helped out and watch for future messages. We will keep you informed.

Your Friends at Millcreek FIDOS (Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Spaces)

EVERYONE… PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG(S)!!!

ALSO, PLEASE OBEY THE LEASH SIGNS.

THIS WEEK…. we will have VISITORS in the park including Council members and the sheriff!

We need to Look Good right now!

Also, please REMIND OTHERS you encounter  to join in and help!

Yet again we need a large turnout at the City Council meeting. Mayor Becker’s veto of the Council’s plan has left the council members in a position of whether or not to override the Mayor.

We have made a huge difference on this issue, but the battle for the dogs of Utah is ongoing–especially regarding Parley’s.

The group FIDOs (Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Spaces) provided this excellent summary of where we stand now. Please read and share the link on your Facebook page:

http://fidosfoundation.org/archives/177

The information below is from the City Council staff. Please come, bring friends, family and spread the word via Facebook and other tools!

>>>>>>>

Thank you for your continued interest in Parley’s Historic Nature Park (PHNP).

The Council is scheduled to hold a discussion during the Work Session regarding the Mayor’s Veto of three ordinancees pertaining to PHNP.

At 7:00 pm during the formal Council meeting:

Potential Action Item – On December 14, 2010, the City Council adopted three ordinances pertaining to Parley’s Historic Nature Park. The Mayor vetoed the ordinances and submitted a letter on December 27, 2010 stating his objections.

As provided in UCA 10-3b-204: “At its next meeting following a mayor’s veto . . . the council shall reconsider the vetoed ordinance . . . ” If at least two-thirds (5) of all Council Members vote in favor of adopting any of the ordinances, then the ordinance becomes effective notwithstanding the veto. However, if an override vote fails, then the Council may decide to amend the ordinance, vote, and send the amended ordinance to the Mayor for his consideration.

“Bark Now or Forever Hold Your Leash”

Your Friends at FIDOS
www.MillcreekFIDOS.org www.FIDOSFoundation.org

Julie Bryan does a great job at adding clarity to a few of the many attacks which have been taken at dog walkers. Some attacks have been under the guise of environmentalism, others have simply been blatant misrepresentations. However, most have been a coordinated suffocation of facts.

Here is a letter Julie Bryan sent as an Op Ed to the SL Tribune:

Response to Mayor Ted Wilson’s Op ed.:

Memories:
You are correct Mayor Wilson. No need to rely on memory to understand the history of Parleys Historic Nature Preserve, I spent hours in the bowels of the County Recorder’s office tracing the actual ownership of the park lands. I wrote it up as the History of Parleys (with detailed citations to the record) and you should be able get it on the City Council website. Make no mistake, the land was not “given” to the City. (Except Mr. Hansen, who donated 5 acres so that the City would buy his other 10.) Property was swapped and purchased. Those were tax dollars that belong to everyone, the land owners just got the cash. As for the term “preservation” it was used as opposed to “development” (of housing projects, tennis courts etc). As a result, the people who live around the gully didn’t get a development in their backyard, which was the goal. I’m not sure what you call the park now. Sure looks like nature preserved from development to me. I also cited to a Trib article which notes, at the time of acquisition, that there were major problems with erosion and lack of maintenance. The City estimate, for a start at the repairs was $600,000.00 You asked the community to come up with that money and noted that the City simply could not afford it. What the community came up with was zip for Parleys and some money to buy the three acres at the south west entrance, grassed it in, put up bathrooms that are never used and put an asphalt trail (it is called the Ted Wilson trail) around the edge for “joggers” (there was supposed to be exercise stations too, they never went in. Nobody uses the trail.

Poison Ivy
In the interim Mr. Mayor, my F250 long bed has hauled an average of 3 loads of noxious weeds out of the park a year – pulled up by doggers. I’ve spent countless hours (and got a good case of poison ivy) cleaning trash and shopping carts out of the stream. Until they bulldozed the North hill (which is when I stopped walking the park), it looked as good or better than when it was acquired – which is why everyone says it is such a cool area and needs to be “preserved” away from the people who have been maintaining it. Nice.

The Mayors “plan” puts up fences and fake ponds. Ugly, expensive, not suited for any of the users. Lovely.

Water
As for the water quality, I’ve looked at the assessment. I think a close look at the data will show you that the water going into the gully (no dogs) is impaired, same as that coming out. Look a little more at water studies done by the DEQ. You’ll find that Little Cottonwood creek qualifies as a non-supporting AU (which means it is a water way that will not support intended use). No dogs up there. Millcreek is a fully supporting AU – despite dog use. In short, you can always use data to support an argument, but selective use of data to support an argument really is not a good practice.

Civilized Actions
As for dog owners being “uncivil”, look at the comments (anon) to the arguments from non-dog owners. douchebag strikes me as a bit “uncivil” and that wasn’t a dog advocate. I’m not anon. I do get heated in the debate at was left has been cut by half and, if Parleys is restricted, that will me more than half. Mayor, we have no place to go. If you are walking the “foothills” you are walking a de-facto off leash space (much like the gully was). I’m glad that it is working for you. But it is very possible that what you are doing is, technically, breaking the law. There are few places in the foothills that are actually legal off leash areas. What the people in the gully tried to do is make their use legal and, in return, offer to maintain the park. That didn’t turn out so well. It may be that people who walk their dogs in the Park will end up in your foothills (The use of Millcreek was closed.) Is that exactly what you want – or have you even thought the consequences to YOUR walking space through? We need more room to walk dogs, not less. Lots of people do it. You do it. So why can’t the city make a little more space?

Julie A. Bryan, BSN, JD.

Mayor Becker’s veto –

We hope that all of you will let Mayor Becker know that you are disappointed by his veto of the City Council’s well balanced approach to the Parleys Historic Nature Park management plan. If you have sent a message to the Mayor in the past, you may have received his “canned” response in which he states that his plan would provide 30 acres of off-leash space, down from the 80 acres that FIDOS has worked so hard to take care of over the past few years.

In the Mayor’s message today to the City Council he once again changes his proposal – this time it was cut in half again to 15 acres.

As there has been no response to our requests for meetings or information over the course of this process, we once again are in the dark about his proposal. Is it 30 acres or is it 15 acres? Does the plan still propose to put our user group into fenced in “pens” or on “off leash trails” and what is the definition of an “off leash trail”? If environmental protection is of the utmost importance, why have all requests from FIDOS to complete improvement projects at no cost to the city been rejected for years? Who are the other user groups who will step in when we are kicked out and what have they done in the past to prove their good faith?

The mayor’s office has been willing to refuse the assistance of a very interested user group and the mayor has not taken any steps to fulfill the City’s own responsibility to maintain the park. He also made an executive decision to move the PRATT trail onto the main road, thereby forcing all traffic onto their only alternative trail along the stream during construction for two years. All of these causing increased impacts. This appears to us to be a strategy aimed at causing environmental degredation with the express intent of revisiting the question and placing the blame exclusively on dog owners.

Special consideration has been given to the BMX bikers and the tube shooters. The vandals and graffiti artists are barely mentioned. The damage caused by bicycles riding off trail or in muddy conditions has not even been mentioned. The damage obviously caused by kids at the rope swing has been unjustly blamed on dogs. There is nothing about sledding on steep erosion channels causing further erosion. Where are the additional areas that will be opened? Why is space being taken away before this additional space is designated? Literally everything in this plan is against YOU – the dog owner. The Mayor’s answer to the crying need for off leash space is to take away what is already there and working. Every other user group is being placed above you.

Let the Mayor know that you are unhappy with his decision. Ask him to at least include FIDOS in the discussion. His message states “Contrary to some of the information you might have received, in the course of the Plan development I’ve had dozens of meetings and interactions with FIDOS supporters and others who want Parleys Historic Nature Park completely off-leash” – ask him about these meetings. The truth is that in the course of the last three years while his office has been preparing this plan, FIDOS repeated requests for meetings have been completely ignored without even the courtesy of a response. With the exception of one meeting over a year ago, there have been ABSOLUTELY NO meetings with individual FIDOS representatives. If you were in attendance at the one public hearing that the mayor attended in the park you will remember that he spent the time chatting with other administrative personnel during the public comment session, showing very little interest in what his constituents had come to say to him.

Send your message to ralph.becker@slcgov.com . Remind him that you are not interested in the destruction of the environment, that the FIDOS group has done more to improve the park than any other group. Tell him that his inaction and refusal to accept FIDOS repeated offers of improvement projects as a strategy toward removing our user group from this valued space is inappropriate and counter-productive. That his actions are not in keeping with his loudly proclaimed environmental stand, it is apparent that his office has worked hard to create problems in the park with one goal in mind – get rid of the dogs!! He has shown himself willing to promote environmental damage in order to remove our user group and in the case of the PRATT trail, replace it with another user group – bicycles.

It is interesting to note that at the same time Mayor Becker is undermining our efforts, he is in the process of hiring his THIRD full time bicycle issues staffer and has given at least a half million dollars to a volunteer group to promote cycling in SLC. We realize the high value of cycling, many of us are avid cyclists, we are simply asking why so much money and effort is put towards promoting one group while an equal amount seems to be used to undermine another. We are simply asking for some consideration.

Please also send messages to the three City Councilmembers who voted against FIDOS – JT Martin, Van Turner and Carlton Christensen at council.comments@slcgov.com. And remember to thank Soren Simonsen, Luke Garrett, Jill Remington-Love, and Stan Penfold for their willingness to listen and consider the needs of our user group. It takes five votes to overturn the mayor’s veto, if there is any chance of this happening it has to be soon, by January 4, 2011. Send your messages right away, especially if you are constituents of JT Martin, Van Turner or Carlton Christensen.

“Bark Now or Forever Hold Your Leash”
Your Friends at FIDOS
www.MillcreekFIDOS.org and www.FIDOSFoundation.org