County Lets Leashed Dogs Hit the Trail

Dogs will have their day for now on Sulphur Mountain Road, but owners are on notice to use leashes on their pets to avoid a total ban.

The Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 Tuesday to approve a final management plan for Sulphur Mountain Road Recreation Trail, which connects the Upper Ojai with Casitas Springs. Initially, dogs will be permitted on the 11-mile dirt trail, but the board will review the idea in two months and again, if necessary, in six months.

In contrast to a contentious four-hour hearing in October that saw more than 30 people talk about the trail’s management policies, only one person addressed the board Tuesday. But supervisors still found room to disagree on the dog issue.

John Flynn and Judy Mikels opposed the presence of dogs on the trail and voted against the plan.

“Once you allow dogs on you’re never going to get them off,” Flynn said. “Dogs and cattle don’t mix, period.”

Last year ranchers and other residents petitioned the county to close off the road, fearing intrusions onto their property--including dogs worrying cattle.

Mikels said she had walked the trail on several occasions and noted that dogs running free are “consistently a problem.” Dogs are banned from county parks, she said.

But the majority of board members said they believe rangers and more than 110 volunteers that will police the trail would help keep the problem in check.