12-Acre
Closure Book
1:FFDW Org
2:Enabling
3:Survey
6:Erosion
Editor: fortfunston@hotmail.com
Webmaster: Wedosites@mail.com
Fort Funston Dog Walkers Mission Statement:
Fort Funston Dog Walkers is a community organization made up of dog owners and dog lovers who want to protect and preserve one of the largest and most beautiful dog-friendly parks in America: Fort Funston.
Fort Funston is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is operated under the authority of the National Park Service. Hang gliders, dog owners, hikers and bikers, bird watchers and joggers use Fort Funston. It is particularly well known as an off-lead dog park, where dogs can run, wrestle, fetch, and frolic in the sand and ice plant, free of the dangers created by traffic and crowds. Fort Funston is listed as one of the best places to walk a dog in California.
FFDW was formed in order to:
· Preserve the long-standing tradition of permitting dogs to run and play off-lead at Fort Funston;
· Promote good dog ownership practices, such as cleaning up after pets, training dogs for voice control, and leashing poorly-socialized animals;
· Provide services such as dog litter cleanup bags and dispensers, periodic litter removal efforts, and informational newsletters.
Fort Funston is an unusual piece of Park Service property. It has not been a “natural” wilderness area for at least seventy years but has instead been under the control of the Department of Defense. During this time large gun emplacements were built for coastal defense and then dismantled, Nike missiles were installed and removed, non-native plant species (such as ice plant and conifers) were cultivated as camouflage, and so forth. Despite this history, there are periodic efforts to have dogs banned from the park or forced to walk on leashes in order to “preserve” the park’s natural resources.
The Fort Funston Dog Walkers believe that the park is big enough to accommodate all of its users, and that its importance as an off-lead area for dogs is equal to any other claim on the park. On the other hand, we recognize that the park’s growing popularity creates an increasing burden on the park, and that educating and assisting dog owners to “do the right thing” can mitigate this burden. The FFDW successfully lobbied the Park Service for boxes for donated bags, additional garbage cans, and organizes dog litter pickup days to compensate for the small percentage of irresponsible owners.
We urge dog owners to visit Fort Funston, particularly if their dogs are well socialized with other dogs and obedient to voice commands. The regulars at Fort Funston enjoy meeting new dogs and new owners. We also urge dog owners to bring leashes and plastic bags (bring extra bags and put them in the wooden boxes); the Park Service requires that owners carry a leash for each dog, and the bag boxes are often empty on busy weekends.)