Off-leash groups clash with park system.In a battle similar to others brewing across the country (see feature story on page 56 for more information), off-leash dogpark groups are fighting for more access to the protected Golden Gate National Recreation Area Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Calif.: see National Parks and Monuments (table). (GGNRA GGNRA Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco, CA, USA) ) in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Calif. Dogpark advocates have asked that pets be allowed to roam without leashes through GGNRA's wildlife habitats, long considered to be some of the most biologically diverse areas in the country. Some dogpark advocates are even asking others to support a Bush Administration initiative that would loosen restrictions of national park preservation. Park biologists disagree, saying this is a drastic step, and point to the fact that more than 70 percent of the Bay Area residents support the national park system's pet management regulations. "The national park system protects monuments to our nation's greatest war heroes, African-American leaders and our most pristine wilderness areas Broadly, a wilderness area is a region where the land is left in a state where human modifications are minimal; that is, as a wilderness. It might also be called a wild or natural area. (Very low or immaterial human impact or "footprint. " said Brent Plater, Bay Area director of the Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity combines conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the . "The off-leash group's decision to walk away from a consensus process and embrace [the Bush Administration's policy] is simply irresponsible." For more information about pet management regulations at the GGNRA, visit www.biologicaldiversity.org. |
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