Pyramid Mountain Dog Park How Did This Past Muster?

How Did Montville Allow a Dog Shelter in the Pyramid Mountain Park Landscape? totally inappropriate; disrespectful of all the reasons Natural Historic Park was incorporated.

The properties were/are held by private investors. The lots are not owned by the county and there isn’t much the county will be able to do about any incoming dog boarding businesses...

See the tax records below. I pulled them from Parcel Explore on njmap2.org

Land owner shown as Mwm Properties LLC

Montville Block 3 Lot 39.1

2 Acres

Value $130,600.00

Tax $3,057.34

Improvement Value: $219,000

How could Morris County let this land go, and for this? How could Montville Allow this so close to Pyramid? What thought process ; or fantasy world do people live in? Dogs have more rights than people? How could the whole spirit and atmosphere of the park not be disturbed by barking dogs and dog waste impacts. (Dogs are allowed everywhere; and then we have dog parks for dogs alone). Pet Owners in general; many are disrespectful of rules and the actual themes and intentions for Park Landscapes. As a Volunteer at Pyramid, and a Volunteer officially since 1976 for the National Park Service, i can attest to the impacts of dogs and irresponsible pet owners in leaving dog waste, not obeying leash rules, and having the peace disturbed. It is totally inappropriate to allow dogs everywhere. Is animal friendly; only consideration for dogs and cats and their owners? Have we lost our concepts of true biodiversity, in complete disregard to all remaining native species?

The above mentioned monetary property values, and improvement are meaningless less in this case. The property could of been open space for $130.000; instead we got this? Was the Morris Parks even informed; if so how, why did they not object?

This dog shelter is proof we have lost our sense of place and remaining natural resource protection goals..Many all too many pet owners put the waste in a plastic bag and toss it, using the surrounding nature for their convenience. This is a wide behavior by pet owners.

The term “landscape-scale” can represent many different spatial scales depending on the resource values being managed. A “landscape” is defined as a large area encompassing an interacting mosaic of ecosystems and human systems that is characterized by a set of intersecting management concerns. The landscape is not defined by the size of the area, but rather by the interacting elements that are meaningful to the landscape. Pyramid Mountain, Natural/Historical/Watershed.

The term “cumulative impacts” refers to the combined, incremental effects of human activity on a resource ecosystem, or human community.

Impacts of an action may be relatively insignificant on their own, but as they accumulate over time and combine with the impacts from other sources, they can lead to significant overall they accumulate over time and combine with the impacts from other sources, they can lead to significant overall degradation of resources (EPA, 1999)...PYRAMID has taken a giant step down in allowing this inappropriate facility. Look forward to constant barking, less wildlife experience potential, and what will they do with all the dog waste? The Pet Industry and the "alleged animal friendly lobby" has gone too far!..Cats & Dogs are not wildlife nor are they examples of the biological biota of the resource of Pyramid Mountain.

Consider these impacts:

• Dogs leave messy, smelly poop on the trail, and it is a simple fact that most people do not clean up after their dogs. Every visitor would be forced to navigate around a large quantity of dog poop, and might be likely to step in it or worse, especially when the trails are slick, as they are much of the time during the peak use period. Patrick Murphy counted 1,492 piles of dog poop on a single trail in Boulder, Colorado in one month, the Sanitas Valley Trail, despite a Boulder ordinance that requires dog owners to pick up after their pets. (SDUT 12/9/01, E2)

Addition of nitrogen to the soil. Patrick Murphy, a plant ecologist, points out that dog poop adds significant nitrogen to the soil, which encourages the growth of non-native plants at the expense of native plants. (SDUT 12/9/01, E2)

Dog poop may seem superficially the same as the fairly large amount of coyote poop that is on the trails at the SRP, but in fact, the coyote poop is much different. Coyote poop is not smelly at all, and most of the time is not messy. Coyote poop is typically either filled with hair, if they have been lucky enough to catch a rabbit or other small mammal, or with berry seeds. Docents have been known to pick up coyote poop to show visitors what the coyote has eaten. Imagine doing this with the black gooey mess caused by the typical dog diet!
Furthermore, coyote poop is naturally present at the SRP, and serves an important scent-marking goal which would be seriously disturbed by dogs attempting to put their own scent on every piece of coyote poop.

• Dogs decrease the number and diversity of wildlife near the trail. Many people come to the SRP to see animals, so their enjoyment would be directly diminished.
• Many non-dog owners are immensely bothered when a strange dog comes up to them and starts to smell them at close quarters, or worse, jumps up on them or barks at them. Many dog owners may not even be aware of this, since, after all, dog owners consider this close contact with their dog to be a pleasant experience, and may even think that everyone else enjoys this, too.
• The presence of dogs would inevitably result in a small number of bad encounters between dogs themselves and between dogs and visitors. Small children are especially in danger from loose dogs, ranging from simply being knocked down by an enthusiastic dog to being bitten or seriously harmed.

Pyramid needs to regain its integrity as a "natural & historic park..If it wasn't for Lucy Meyers rare plant inventory this sacred landscape of Native American Lore may have lost forever to development; now the Pet Industry has injured its original setting and incorporation in the County Park System..