Owners Show Their Hackles Over Dogs’ Being Barred From Trails in State Parks

Phillip Hoffman wants to know the difference between a horse and a dog.

Horses are allowed on the trails of the state parks in the Santa Monica Mountains, but dogs, even on a leash, are prohibited.

The state prohibition against dogs stands even though local and federal recreation areas in the same mountains allow leashed dogs on trails, Hoffman said.

To make his point and push for a change in the law, Hoffman, a dog owner, cutlery designer and self-described public relations specialist, led two dozen of his supporters accompanied by their dogs in a demonstration at the entrance to Malibu Creek State Park on Saturday.

Hoffman, who lives at Malibu Lake just west of the park, said he and the rest of Los Angeles County’s 1.6 million dog owners should have the right to take their pets on any trail in state parks that is used by equestrians or bicyclists.

Kenneth Leigh, chief ranger for the state parks in the Santa Monica Mountains District, tried to explain the state’s policy to some of the chanting dog walkers who at one point encircled him in the guard booth at the park entrance.

Differences in Impact

Leigh said there are several differences in the environmental impact of horses and dogs, the main one being numbers. “Today we had the first two horses in the park that I’ve seen in seven months,” he said. If dogs were allowed on the back trails, they would undoubtedly far outnumber horses, he said.

But the chief reasons for prohibiting dogs on back trails are that the pets could pose a threat to wildlife and destroy the park’s atmosphere of wilderness, Leigh said.

“I own a dog,” Leigh said. Speaking of Hoffman, he said: “I understand that he needs a place to walk his dog, and he’s a close-by neighbor of the park. . . . But state parks are special places. They were not made state parks just because they’re open space. They have significant cultural or natural features that make them of statewide significance. They can’t become a doggie rest area.”

Maryanne Lovell, a Silver Lake dog owner who leads hikes for the Sierra Club and who also owns a horse, acknowledged that unleashed or untrained dogs can be a problem. “They can chase animals and be aggressive,” Lovell said.

But if state law were changed to allow leashed dogs in state parks, careful enforcement would prevent such problems, she said.

Hoffman said the reasons given by state parks officials for the ban on dogs--such as the risk of dog bites or the threat to wildlife--are not supported with data.

He handed out sheets of statistics, provided by parks officials, showing that not one person had been treated for a dog bite in 1986 in Rancho Sierra Vista, a small but heavily used recreation area run by the National Park Service. The area is similar to Malibu Creek but dogs are allowed on leashes.

The only neutral presence at the demonstration was Lou Levy, a well-known conservationist from Encino, a professor of medicine and chairman of the Santa Monica Mountains State Parks Citizens’ Advisory Council, a 14-member group that represents the interests of park users to the regional director.

Levy told Hoffman that he should present his views at the next council meeting. The council represents park users with such disparate interests as surfing, biking and recreational-vehicle use. “We want to see the greatest use of the parks without destroying the resource,” Levy said.

Leigh said Hoffman will ultimately have to take his request to the Commission of State Parks and Recreation, which must vote on any change of regulations. The state Legislature also would have to approve the change.

David Brown, a member of the advisory council and longtime opponent of development in the Santa Monica Mountains, showed up as the sole voice supporting Leigh and opposing dogs.

Brown had been closely involved in the fight to prevent the land that is now Malibu Creek State Park from falling into developers’ hands. The property was saved, he said, to provide a sanctuary for wildlife and a haven for city dwellers eager to flee all things urban--including dogs.

State parks do not exist just to fulfill uses desired by local residents, Brown said. “This place is paid for by people from Eureka and Sacramento as well as Los Angeles. . . . This is an outdoor museum.”

“I agree that care should be taken to preserve the wildlife and vegetation as much as possible,” Hoffman said. “On the other hand, the idea of locking out the three largest state parks to the people of Los Angeles who have dogs is ridiculous,” he said, referring to Topanga, Malibu Creek and Point Mugu state parks.