Federal officials may bring dog park to heel

Plans for the first dog park in Auburn are still moving forward - but maybe on a tighter leash.The Ashley Memorial Dog Park, which is proposed for a 3-acre parcel of land on Pacific Avenue near Overlook Park, would include three fenced-in play areas where dogs can run off-leash.The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which leases the land to the Auburn Recreation District, has reviewed the project's conceptual plan and is giving suggestions that may affect the park's progress.IN THE KNOW: Ashley Memorial Dog ParkSite: Approximately 3-acre parcel on Pacific Avenue near Overlook and Railhead parks.Details: Conceptual designs include three separately fenced play areas for dogs, a "Splash and Dash" pond, unleashing entrances, a two-way road leading into the parcel with 10 parking spaces, as well as wrought-iron gates and black chain link fencing.The need: Auburn leash laws prevent dogs from running free.Named for: Ashley Harris Haupt who died in 2003 at age 24. She was a dog lover who adored her Chihuahua, Chewie. Her mother, Kathleen Harris, and grandmother, Norma Harris, have pledged funding to the park.Status: The site plan was recently put on hold after receiving recommendations from the Bureau of Reclamation.The cost: Unclear. Much of the construction costs are being donated. The value of the donated labor and materials is unknown as of yet.Fund-raising: More than $30,000 has been raised for creation and maintenance of the park.For more information: www.ashleydogpark.com"If we had to do some of these things, it would be a show-stopper," said Laura Pinnick, president of the Ashley Memorial Dog Park Foundation.One is a suggestion to reduce fencing along Pacific Avenue - something Pinnick said cannot be done without compromising the purpose of the park."Obviously we need fencing for the safety of the dogs," Pinnick said.Other suggestions call for minimizing grading work to preserve the existing topography and not removing any of the many oaks on the parcel."We need to remove oaks to provide enough play area," Pinnick said. "It's like not removing trees from a soccer field or a baseball field."Another provision states the project must restore the communications tower shack and do an archeological dig of the area.Although a site plan was about to be drafted for the project, paving the way for construction, that is now on hold as Pinnick works with the Bureau on these recommendations. She said the next step would be to work with the Bureau on minimizing the appearance of fencing and other changes that would meet their recommendations."Obviously, it will delay the project and add a lot of additional costs," she said.The Auburn Recreation District board had approved the Environmental Impact Report on the dog park and sent it on to the federal Bureau of Reclamation. The federal water resources agency owns land set aside for the Auburn dam project. ARD has a long-term lease for some of this land, including the dog park site.The Bureau has worked with ARD to provide direction on what needs to happen to move forward on the project, said bureau resource management chief Rob Schroeder. Recommendations were made to keep the integrity of the local scenery."We want to minimize the impact to resources and the land," Schroeder said. "From a visual standpoint, fencing isn't that attractive. We want to keep the land as native and as natural as possible."We're not suggesting that this couldn't be done or can't be done."Pinnick's efforts thus far have raised more than $30,000 for the park through donations and "Bone-a-Fits" such as the Splash Dogs dock-diving competitions and the Classic Car, Crafts & Canines Bone-a-Fit.Fund-raising events will continue this year with three dock-diving competitions scheduled for this summer, even if it's unclear when construction on the park can begin."It's been so much work to get to this point," she said. "I have a now famous phrase, 'What was I thinking?'"The Journal's Michelle Miller can be reached at michellem@goldcountrymedia.com.