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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_041F_01CFB8CD.26F942F0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I=E2=80=99m not sure what reporting does, except perhaps to sufficiently = annoy officialdom into doing a bit of patrolling. (They sure do get the = illegal parkers.)=20 I once said something to someone whose dog was running wild on the = beach. She informed me--forcefully, of course--that Conrad=E2=80=99s = beach is an off-leash area. So, I think official signage might help = curb some of the excesses. How about a sign just under the piping = plover board, in large letters: =E2=80=9CTHIS BEACH IS NOT AN OFF-LEASH = AREA. There is a fine for allowing dogs to run loose. Phone 1 800 565 = 2224 to report.=E2=80=9D I appreciate dog owners=E2=80=99 need for places where their animals can = play and exercise. More of these =E2=80=9Cdoggie parks=E2=80=9D please. Jane Schlosberg From: BSC NS Plovers=20 Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 2:08 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Eastern Shore: Rye & Birds & Dogs.. Hi David, I appreciate your comments about Conrads beach and the issue of dog = walkers ignoring leash regulations. You are not alone in your = frustration! Dogs running at-large is not just a threat to wildlife, = it's a serious safety concern for all beach and park visitors. During our beach surveys for Piping Plover across NS, our team of staff = and volunteers collect data on threats to birds and habitats, including = numbers of dogs on and off-leash. Last year, Conrads and Martinique = had the highest rates of off-leash dogs than any other beach in Nova = Scotia. Conrads, in particular, seems to have become an extremely = popular place to let one's dog run. Wendy MacDonald recently shared with me a letter she wrote in July to = the Chronicle Herald Community paper regarding leashing rules for dogs. = Among her excellent points, was one that discusses how dog parks in = communities could be part of a solution. Having more safe spaces for = dogs to run off-leash and socialize could help to take some of the = pressure off our parks and beaches. I know that the NS Bird Society has = also expressed their concern about this issue through a letter to the = province earlier this year. But what can one person do now when you see walkers violating posted = leash regulations? Our team has been told to report dogs at-large to = the Dept Natural Resources hotline: 1 800-565-2224. We don't report = every single dog off-leash we see (we'd be on the phone a lot!), but we = do our best to report incidents where we see a dog chasing birds or = running at-large (far from owner) and when the dog walker won't put = their dog on-leash after a polite request. Regarding lack of signage = (sometimes signs are stolen or vandalised), you could try talking to the = local DNR office for that area (contacts for each office can be found at = http://novascotia.ca/natr/staffdir/offices.asp). Kind regards, Sue Abbott Bird Studies Canada Piping Plover Conservation Program On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 12:03 PM, David Patriquin = <David.Patriquin@dal.ca> wrote: I was on the Saltmarsh Trail yesterday, just past the bridge before = Lawrencetown beach. There is a good crop of what I assume is winter rye = by the trail, quite munchable at this stage. I wondered-- does anyone = know why it is planted there? Stabilization? For wildlife? (I assume = not as snacks for humans!) It probably reseeds itself. Anyway, quite = impressive. =20 There was a group of 51 semipalmated plovers frequenting the tidal = flats, day before as well, and two American golden plovers; and in the = inlet behind Conrad's Beach, one lonely Bonaparte's Gull; several = lesser yellow legs; only a half dozen semipalmated sandpipers on the = beach at extreme low tide but lots of dogs. Speaking of which, DNR Conservation officeres came to Conrad when we = were leaving to check out parking by the gate. I talked to them about = dogs. There had been 4 or 5 dogs on the beach in the previous couple of = hours. They said that they give $175 tickets but they dont do any good. = It seems to me that if they posted "$175 fines" on the No Dogs Off-leash = sign, it might be more effective. (How about increasing the fines?) = Also.. kite-whatever-it-is-with-wheels when they do it along the beach = should be specifically banned. The officers talked only about Piping Plover as being threatened by = dogs, as do the signs, but surely, the stress on all shorebirds should = be highlighted, e.g., as for semipalmated sandpipers at Evangeline = Beach. As it stands, Martinique and Conrad have ever-growing = reputations (Googled) as dog-friendly beaches. A few pics at http://versicolor.ca/conrad to illustrate these points. --=20 Bird Studies Canada NS Piping Plover Conservation Program www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/nsplover/ ------=_NextPart_000_041F_01CFB8CD.26F942F0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><HEAD></HEAD> <BODY dir=3Dltr> <DIV dir=3Dltr> <DIV style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV>I=E2=80=99m not sure what reporting does, except perhaps to = sufficiently annoy=20 officialdom into doing a bit of patrolling. (They sure do get the = illegal=20 parkers.) </DIV> <DIV>I once said something to someone whose dog was running wild on the=20 beach. She informed me--forcefully, of course--that = Conrad=E2=80=99s beach is an=20 off-leash area. So, I think official signage might help curb some = of the=20 excesses. How about a sign just under the piping plover board, in = large=20 letters: =E2=80=9CTHIS BEACH IS NOT AN OFF-LEASH AREA. There is a = fine for=20 allowing dogs to run loose. Phone 1 800 565 2224 to = report.=E2=80=9D</DIV> <DIV>I appreciate dog owners=E2=80=99 need for places where their = animals can play and=20 exercise. More of these =E2=80=9Cdoggie parks=E2=80=9D = please.</DIV> <DIV>Jane Schlosberg</DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D'FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: = "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; = DISPLAY: inline'> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt tahoma"> <DIV><FONT size=3D3 face=3DCalibri></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5"> <DIV style=3D"font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A = title=3Dnsplovers@gmail.com=20 href=3D"mailto:nsplovers@gmail.com">BSC NS Plovers</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 15, 2014 2:08 PM</DIV> <DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</A> = </DIV> <DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NatureNS] Eastern Shore: Rye & Birds & = Dogs..</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D'FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: = "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; = DISPLAY: inline'> <DIV dir=3Dltr> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Hi David,<BR><BR></DIV>I appreciate your comments about Conrads = beach and=20 the issue of dog walkers ignoring leash regulations. You are not = alone in=20 your frustration! Dogs running at-large is not just a threat to = wildlife,=20 it's a serious safety concern for all beach and park = visitors.<BR><BR>During our=20 beach surveys for Piping Plover across NS, our team of staff and = volunteers=20 collect data on threats to birds and habitats, including numbers of dogs = on and=20 off-leash. Last year, Conrads and Martinique had the highest = rates=20 of off-leash dogs than any other beach in Nova Scotia. Conrads, in = particular, seems to have become an extremely popular place to let one's = dog=20 run.<BR><BR></DIV> <DIV>Wendy MacDonald recently shared with me a letter she wrote in July = to the=20 Chronicle Herald Community paper regarding leashing rules for = dogs. Among=20 her excellent points, was one that discusses how dog parks in = communities could=20 be part of a solution. Having more safe spaces for dogs to run = off-leash=20 and socialize could help to take some of the pressure off our parks and=20 beaches. I know that the NS Bird Society has also expressed their = concern=20 about this issue through a letter to the province earlier this = year.<BR><BR>But=20 what can one person do now when you see walkers violating posted leash=20 regulations? Our team has been told to report dogs at-large to the = Dept=20 Natural Resources hotline: <A href=3D"tel:1%20800-565-2224" = target=3D_blank=20 value=3D"+18005652224">1 800-565-2224</A>. We don't report every = single dog=20 off-leash we see (we'd be on the phone a lot!), but we do our best to = report=20 incidents where we see a dog chasing birds or running at-large (far from = owner)=20 and when the dog walker won't put their dog on-leash after a polite=20 request. Regarding lack of signage (sometimes signs are stolen or=20 vandalised), you could try talking to the local DNR office for that area = (contacts for each office can be found at <A=20 href=3D"http://novascotia.ca/natr/staffdir/offices.asp"=20 target=3D_blank>http://novascotia.ca/natr/staffdir/offices.asp</A>).<BR><= /DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Kind regards,<BR><BR>Sue Abbott<BR>Bird Studies=20 Canada<BR></DIV> <DIV>Piping Plover Conservation Program<BR></DIV> <DIV> <DIV><BR><BR></DIV></DIV> <DIV class=3Dgmail_extra><BR><BR> <DIV class=3Dgmail_quote>On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 12:03 PM, David = Patriquin <SPAN=20 dir=3Dltr><<A href=3D"mailto:David.Patriquin@dal.ca"=20 target=3D_blank>David.Patriquin@dal.ca</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE class=3Dgmail_quote=20 style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc = 1px solid"> <DIV=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: = calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: #000000; BACKGROUND-COLOR: = #ffffff"=20 dir=3Dltr> <P>I was on the Saltmarsh Trail yesterday, just past the bridge before = Lawrencetown beach. There is a good crop of what I assume is winter = rye by the=20 trail, quite munchable at this stage. I wondered-- does anyone know = why it is=20 planted there? Stabilization? For wildlife? (I assume not as = snacks for=20 humans!) It probably reseeds itself. Anyway, quite=20 impressive.<BR> <BR>There was a group of 51 semipalmated plovers=20 frequenting the tidal flats, day before as well, and two American = golden=20 plovers; and in the inlet behind Conrad's Beach, one lonely = Bonaparte's=20 Gull; several lesser yellow legs; only a half dozen semipalmated = sandpipers on=20 the beach at extreme low tide but lots of dogs.<BR><BR>Speaking of = which, DNR=20 Conservation officeres came to Conrad when we were leaving to check = out=20 parking by the gate. I talked to them about dogs. There had been 4 or = 5 dogs=20 on the beach in the previous couple of hours. They said that they give = $175=20 tickets but they dont do any good. It seems to me that if they posted = "$175=20 fines" on the No Dogs Off-leash sign, it might be more effective. (How = about=20 increasing the fines?) Also.. kite-whatever-it-is-with-wheels when = they do it=20 along the beach should be specifically banned.<BR><BR>The officers = talked only=20 about Piping Plover as being threatened by dogs, as do the signs, but = surely,=20 the stress on all shorebirds should be highlighted, e.g., as for = semipalmated=20 sandpipers at Evangeline Beach. As it stands, Martinique and = Conrad have=20 ever-growing reputations (Googled) as dog-friendly beaches.<BR><BR>A = few pics=20 at <A href=3D"http://versicolor.ca/conrad"=20 target=3D_blank>http://versicolor.ca/conrad</A> to illustrate these=20 points.<BR></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR clear=3Dall><BR>-- = <BR><SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Bird Studies = Canada</SPAN><BR=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif">NS Piping Plover = Conservation=20 Program</SPAN><BR style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><A=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif"=20 href=3D"http://www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/nsplover/"=20 target=3D_blank>www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/nsplover/</A><BR><BR><BR></= DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_041F_01CFB8CD.26F942F0--
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