Sample Letter to Object to the Superintendent's Compendium

Please submit an official comment objecting to the compendium before Nov 27th to goga_public_affairs@nps.gov and cc the GGNRA Superintendent Laura Joss (Laura_Joss@nps.gov), NPS Pacific West Region Director Stan Austin (stan_austin@nps.gov), GGNRA Community Liaison Amy Brees (amy_brees@nps.gov), and your local, state, and federal representatives.

Sample public comment

I am writing to object to the 2019 Superintendent’s Compendium for the GGNRA. A compendium is meant for the introduction of minor noncontroversial changes to national parks and national recreation areas. But the 2019 Superintendent’s Compendium includes significant changes to dog walking in the GGNRA, which has been the subject of a 10+-year battle that pit San Francisco Bay Area residents and their local lawmakers against the National Park Service. The proposed changes to dog walking access and terminology related to dog walking are highly controversial and unlawful and should be removed from the compendium.  

The changes that must be removed from the compendium include:

  • Any and all restrictions to dog walking in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties that are not necessitated by immediate safety concerns.

  • Any and all changes to the definitions and terms that describe dog walking. Unacceptable changes proposed in the 2019 compendium include new definitions of the terms “managed dogs,” “unmanaged dogs,” and “voice control.” 

  • Any new restrictions to dog walking at Fort Funston, especially the idea that "signed sensitive restoration areas" automatically forbid dog walking access.

  • The edict that commercial dog walking will not be allowed in San Mateo County. To the contrary, the GGNRA should extend the commercial dog walking permit process to San Mateo.

The people of the San Francisco Bay Area are adamant that dog walking in the GGNRA be guided by the 1979 Pet Policy, and San Mateo County’s historic dog walking access. And we will not allow the National Park Service to misuse the compendium process to implement parts of the highly controversial Dog Management Plan that we forced the Park Service to withdraw in 2017.

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