CAN I BRING MY DOG TO THE PARK?

We know you love bringing your dog with you to enjoy recreation in our parks. In response to public demand, AIPRD has opened access to leashed dogs in many of our parks:

• Freddie's Off-Leash Dog Park - This park has 2 fenced areas, an obstacle course, covered seating and a trail to the adjoining park.
• Andy's Wildlife Park - This 2.5 mile trail system is great for longer walks with dogs, offering beautiful shaded woods throughout. The trail from the dog park leads into this trail system, and another trail - the Deweyert-Claussen Trail - leads out to Claussen Road.
• Jane Cammon Park - Even-terrain trails offer a great place to go running with your dog.
• Idie Ulsh Park - This short, lush trail is full of wonders and isn't a long commitment, for those days that you just want to get out for a short walk.
• Tom's Park - Still under development, this park has one of two trails that is dog-friendly and we are currently developing a plan for lake access.

Aside from the dog park, we ask that your dogs remain leashed at all times while in our parks. Other park visitors and/or their dogs might not have the same discipline or love of meeting new friends as your dog. Please help us prevent unintentional incidents by being a good neighbor and keeping your pet under your physical control. Please read the detailed rules in Section 11 before bringing your dogs.

See this section for definitions and details.

As managers of natural resources and recreation, Anderson Island Park & Recreation District has a responsibility to balance public access with land and ecosystem conservation. So we did some research to answer the question:

Portland Metro Parks published a paper in 2016 showing their findings from analyzing and assessing available research on the topic. You can read their full paper here, but here is the summary:

While different species have different thresholds of tolerance, a good rule of thumb is that when a person brings their leashed dog with them on a hike, they double the radius of their wildlife impact, and if the dog is off-leash, it doubles again.  

In one of our two largest parks - Andy's Marine Park - people on our trails impact about 8.5% of the park's 81-acre wildlife habitat, based on conservative field research. When leashed dogs following all the rules are brought along, that doubles to 17% of the park. If that dog is off-leash, field research has shown impact can double again to 34%.

It's important to state that humans DO have an impact on wildlife habitats, and you can learn how to be a good steward in our parks. But that impact widens with dogs for a number of reasons.   

As dogs move through an area, they leave behind scents that indicate a predator’s presence, which discourages animals from entering the area. Even walking a well-behaved, leashed dog on the trails in our more eco-sensitive parks has a wide impact on our wildlife. 

Here are the impact types listed in the Portland Metro report:

The presence of dogs causes wildlife to move away, temporarily or permanently reducing the amount of available habitat in which to feed, breed and rest. Animals become less active during the day to avoid dog interactions. Furthermore, the scent of dogs repels wildlife and the effects remain after the dogs are gone.

Animals are alarmed and cease their routine activities. This increases the amount of energy they use, while simultaneously reducing their opportunities to feed. Repeated stress causes long-term impacts on wildlife including reduced reproduction and growth, suppressed immune system and increased vulnerability to disease and parasites.

Dogs transmit diseases (such as canine distemper and rabies) to and from wildlife. Loose dogs kill wildlife.

Dog waste pollutes water and transmits harmful parasites and diseases to people. (This is relevant to Lowell Johnson Park's dog restriction)

Please adhere to our park rules and only bring your four-legged companions to our dog-friendly parks!

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If you'd like to read more details on the studies behind these estimates and assessments, we encourage you to read the whole report:

The impacts of dogs on wildlife and water quality: A literature review 

Compiled by Lori Hennings, Metro Parks and Nature, April 2016