Feb
18, 2010
The
Lexington Minuteman
http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/features/x1685912768/A-walk-in-Willards-Woods
A
walk in Willards Woods
By Emily Costello/Staff Writer
Posted Feb 18, 2010 @
11:09 AM
Editor’s
note: On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Cary Memorial Hall, the Lexington
Conservation Commission will meet to consider restricting off-leash
dog walking in Willards Woods.
We
decided to spend a few hours in the woods Monday to see who was using this
100-acre conservation area and how.
8:40
a.m. We park at Diamond Middle School and head
into Willards Woods along Redcoat Lane, heading toward North Street. The first
dog we see is an elderly golden retriever. The dog is not on a leash. He trots
quietly along.
8:55
a.m. Approaching a bridge, we come across four
people walking three dogs off-leash. In the group is longtime Lexington
resident Kathy Scott. While the other humans mind the dogs and greet friends,
Scott expresses her opinion on the possible pending change in policy.
She dismisses
abutters who complain about parking.
“If you move into a
place with public facilities, you have to expect that people will park near
your house,” Scott said.
Scott said most dog
walkers go beyond what’s required, even walking into the woods to pick up feces
when they see the need. She said Willards Woods isn’t much different than other
recreation areas in town.
“There are a few
people who would spoil the bike path for everyone,” Scott said. “They go too
fast and litter.”
Still, nobody would
consider closing the bike path, Scott said, and the dogs deserve the same
consideration.
9:11
a.m. Near the North Street parking lot, Marc
Sarfati arrives with his coonhound.
“It’s a scandal to
even consider” requiring dogs to be on leash, Sarfati said. “Hundreds of people
are walking dogs. It’s three abutters who are creating havoc. It’s wrong that
three or four people have been able to move an entire committee.”
9:28
a.m. There are 10 cars parked in the North Street
parking lot. A tacked-up sign says: “Keep Willard Woods Open for Off-Leash Dog
Walking.”
9:37
a.m. As we head through an open field toward North
Street, Sarfati connects with us as we wait for a dog owner to call her dog out
of a nearby yard.
He expressed a
concern that the only data received by the Conservation Commission came from a
proponent of banning dogs from the area.
“We need a neutral
party to study the nature situation,” Sarfati said, referring to an argument
that dogs and walkers were degrading conservation land and chasing away
wildlife. “Things have gotten completely out of proportion.”
9:51
a.m. At the North Street entrance, there are
beautiful stonewalls, a bike path and a barrel full of dog feces in plastic
bags. We follow the bike path, passing a body of water fenced off with orange
plastic, and emerge at an open field.
10:05
a.m. Out in the field, not everyone is following
the rule for disposing of dog feces. Louis Postel, out with his dog Mochi, is
scooping feces with a miniature rake into a shovel and moving it under the
trees.
Postel is serene in his
task while Mochi enjoys greeting the dogs passing by. Postel, who moved to
Lexington about a year ago, said the dogs make the park more accessible to
women walking alone.
“The park is less
creepy with dogs,” Postel said.
10:15
a.m. We emerge at the Brent Road entrance to the
park, near the Adams Pool. Six cars are parked on the side of the road, away
from the houses. All is quiet.
10:26
a.m. Coming back into the conservation land, we
meet Elisabeth Garland walking with her golden retriever Abby. Garland said she
has been walking in Willards Woods for 25 years.
“I’m in favor of
unleashed dogs,” Garland said. “People are following the rules and they are
reasonable rules. This is a fabulous place. I have met so many wonderful
people. My dogs are ecstatic. Leashing would miss the whole point.”
10:35
a.m. Back in the field, a popular crossroads in
the park, Garland introduces us to Sharon Olofsson, who opposes leash
regulations.
“To me, this is a
community,” Olofsson said, pointing out that she had met an architect and a
babysitter at Willards Woods. “If we have to keep the dogs on-leash, people
won’t come.”
Olofsson said she
welcomes solutions like building a fence, strengthen parking regulations,
limiting dog walking hours or even dividing the woods into dog and dog-free
areas.
“To get rid of us
wouldn’t solve anything for the town,” Olofsson said. “It would just export the
problem and disband our community. They shouldn’t take away something that
makes so many people happy.”
11:17
a.m. After two and a half hours in the park on a
chilly morning, we’ve only met dog walkers, all of who oppose leash
regulations.
A
way forward
Some people who
would like to see changes in Willards Woods are less eager than dog owners to
express their opinions publicly.
Compromises like
dog-walking permits and limiting hours have few supporters. Some are calling
for a dog park to be located off conservation land.
Selectman Hank Manz
said overuse was a common problem on many conservation lands.
“Issues like this,
with deep polarization on two sides, are difficult for a volunteer government
to solve,” Manz said Wednesday. “Building consensus takes action from both
sides.”
Manz called for the
formation of a committee, like the one that created the current signs
explaining the proper use of the woods, to study the issue.
“The committee could
go beyond dogs, and think about what the proper use of conservation land is in
general,” Manz said.
The Conservation
Commission will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, before voting on the
regulations.
Conservation
Administrator Karen Mullins said it was unlikely that the Commission would make
a decision Tuesday. She said it was more likely the Commission would discuss
the issue and narrow down a long list of possible solutions.
“It’s hard,” Mullins
said. “There are no solutions that will make people happy.”
Comments (2)
ebgray
1 day ago
These issues are
common in resources or background many communities, often heated, and can
polarize neighbors. As noted, local governement generally doesn't have the to
undertake the type of facilitated process that can resolve the issues to the
satisfaction of all. As a professional facilitator and mediator who has
convened and managed processes devoted to such difficult issues, I'm aware that
there are often many options that are available when people can talk together
about their concerns, rather than use a process that is inherently adversarial.
I encourage the town to consider using a public policy faciltator for issues
such as these.
Nino
4 hours ago
My opinion is to
let the dogs walk free. I base this on my experience with free roaming dogs and
their owners. 99.9% of the time no incident will occur and I would hate to see
such a free area go to waste because of one dog or three residences.
When was the last time someone was bit at Willard Woods?
I grew up hearing that this is a FREE country. Something tells me we are moving
away from this ideal. Three residences deciding the fate of the many people who
use Willard Woods?
I don't like it. Its a free country and its 'the woods' for goodness sake. Its
nature, and three people shouldn't have control over it just because they don't
like seeing cars parked accross the street from their house.
Good grief!
Steve 'Nino' Marino