From
the Lexington Minuteman
Willards
Woods’ dog issue tabled until 2010
http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/x187995325/Willards-Woods-dog-issue-tabled-until-2010
By
Emily Costello/Staff Writer
Posted Dec 10, 2009
@ 05:36 AM
Burlington —
The Lexington Conservation
Commission is waiting until next year to tackle the issue of dogs in Willard
Woods.
Karen Mullins,
director of community development for the commission and the town’s
conservation administrator, said no date has been set for the next meeting but
it should take place in mid-January.
The Commission held
a public meeting in October to discuss the use of the woods. Participants
voiced concerns about tension between dog walkers and those who would prefer
dogs in the woods to stay on-leash.
The commissioners
need to look through the different comments and choose something that may help,
Mullins said.
The commission, she
said, would look at adding trash receptacles and signs that may help defuse the
issue. Discussion may also include changes to policy regulating the use of
conservation land.
The commission is
charged with protecting and preserving more than 1,340 acres of conservation
land, including 100 acres at Willard Woods.
“We keep getting a
few e-mails” complaining about dogs in the woods, Mullins said.
Recently, parents of
a member of the Lexington High School cross country team wrote to complain that
dogs were jumping on the student-athletes, making it difficult for the team to
train in the woods.
There are few
regulations restricting dogs on conservation land, Mullins said, except for a
regulation that limits each person to walking only three dogs. A pond in the
woods that is a popular swimming spot for dogs is currently being restored
after being degraded by heavy dog and foot traffic.
The town bylaw does
not require dogs to be on leash, provided they are under “voice control:" No dog owned or kept in this Town shall be allowed to be off
the premises of its owner or keeper except in the immediate restraint and
control of some person by means of a leash or by effective command.