Bull Creek District Park Needs Your Help

Please take time to visit
http://savebcdogpark.org/
and sign their petition.

Then PLEASE email the Parks Board and Environmental Board members and Staff/Directors NOW to voice your support of BCDOG proposals (details below).

Watershed Protection Department is recommending closing Bull Creek District Park Sept. 8, 2009 for at least 6 months to do a park restoration. The ultimate, unannounced strategy looks like they would reopen the park to either no dogs allowed or dogs on leash only. This park is the only dog offleash area northwest of 2222 and Burnet Road. Austin parks are woefully deficient in venues that allow dogs on or offleash, with only 12 city wide and this has not changes while our population has doubled and we now have an estimated 224,000 dogs in Austin..

The WPD issue is that eColi bacteria in the creek is caused by dog poop. This is unproved but suspected because of the heavy dog use there. Other known sources are wild animal waste, sewer spills, which have happened periodically since 2003, and dirty diapers left in/near the creek (dozens found after every weekend).

eColi bacteria was brought to our attention in late 2007 after a massive sewage spill and 10 children reported stomach illness after being in the creek at the District Park. The City WPD's solution to this was to hold one press conference, hand our dome flyers and put up a few signs. I advised them beforehandd that this would not work, that on the ground work needed to be organized, but they went ahead with their plan anyway. I then asked dog owners to volunteer to do something about the suspected problem. Debra Bailey volunteered to start a stakeholder group, now over 100 strong and known as BCDOG - Bull Creek Dog Offleash Group.

Since the middle of 2008 to now, their on the ground work with education of dog owners, regular poop patrol and park improvements has resulted in the average eColi levels at the park returning to below the state recreational water quality standard for eColi during the week and 131 vs. the std. of 126 on weekends. This is a huge accomplishment, despite drought condition water flows in the creek

BCDOG is the strongest coalition of stakeholders in the 32 square mile Bull Creek watershed. These stakeholders must be rewarded by keeping the offleash area open.

Bull Creek Foundation and BCDOG have proposed the next phase initiative, which is to adopt the Boulder Colorado method of dog guardian training, registration, rules and enforcement.
http://tinyurl.com/ldubdh
BCDOG has recommended that a $5 charge be added to the 3 year rabies tag required by the city. This could raise over $1 million for a Park Ranger Program and Parks Department for education and enforcement.

The park improvement project proposed by WPD and supported by us can be done without closing the park, alienating hundreds of volunteers and losing their support.

Please voice your support of BCDOG's continued work, including our phase II proposal, keeping Bull Creek District Park open with continued offleash dog use.

Please email the Parks Board and Environmental Board members and Staff/Directors NOW to voice your support of BCDOG proposals.

Parks Board, Staff and Director
Linda Guerrero lguerrero9@austin.rr.com, Mark Vane MVane@gardere.com, Hill Abell whabell@gmail.com, Carol Lee clee.parks@gmail.com, Jerry Perales jerry.perales@jacobs.com, Jane Rivera janehrivera@austin.rr.com, Sara Hatfield Marler saramarler@sbcglobal.net, Sara Hensley Sara.Hensley@ci.austin.tx.us, Bill Wells Bill.Wells@ci.austin.tx.us, Farhad Madani Farhad.Madani@ci.austin.tx.us, Tino Garcia tino.garcia@ci.austin.tx.us

Environmental Board and WPD:
Mary Gay Maxwell marygaymaxwell@sbcglobal.net, Mary Ann Neely maryannneely@austin.rr.com,J Robert Anderson banderson@jrobertanderson.com, William Curra william.curra@sbcglobal.net, Phil Moncada moncadataz@sbcglobal.net, Rodney Ahart rodahart@yahoo.com, Jon Beall jonbeall1@onr.com, Robin Gary rhgary@bseacd.org, Victoria Li Victoria.Li@ci.austin.tx.us, Larry Schooler Larry.Schooler@ci.austin.tx.us

THANKS for your help on this important issue!