We urgently need your help preserving recreational dog walking in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).

Despite objections from tens of thousands of Bay Area residents and the Boards of Supervisors of all three counties with GGNRA land, the National Park Service is determined to stop us from practicing a recreational activity that’s hugely popular in the San Francisco Bay Area.

There is nothing wrong, and something very right, about people recreating by walking their dogs. Walking a dog lowers your blood pressure. It makes people, particularly women and seniors, feel safer. It leads to lower stress and better health. And most of all -- it is a perfectly appropriate recreational activity for a recreation area. The GGNRA is an urban recreation area, not a remote wilderness. It is the heart of one of the most densely packed urban areas in the entire nation. To dramatically reduce recreational opportunities in the GGNRA is a complete violation of the public trust, and it will burden nearby smaller city parks.

The proposed dog rule for the GGNRA will result in the largest loss of recreational access since the inception of this urban recreation area. Dogs have only ever been allowed on a mere 1% of the GGNRA. We're not asking for more. We just want to keep what we've had for over 40 years. There is no justification for severely restricting and in many places entirely banning people and their dogs, who have been welcome in these locations for decades. Recreation and environmental preservation are both thriving in the GGNRA.

Please stand up for your constituents.

The Park Service has ignored our concerns. We need you to fight to protect our access to this long-standing recreational activity and ensure the Park Service respects the traditions of our community. 

Can we count on you?