Enjoying Duke Forest with Man's Best Friend

Many dog owners enjoy spending quality time outside with their pooches, and some take advantage of the 40 miles of roads and trails in the Duke Forest. Those who walk in the Forest have the opportunity to experience both managed and natural areas alike in this living laboratory for teaching and research.

While dogs are welcome in the Forest, they must be restrained by a leash at all times. As discovered in a recreational survey completed in 2001, many users of the Forest thought the dog leash requirement was a Duke University rule intended solely for visitor safety. In fact, leashes are required by city and county laws: any dog off of the owner's property must be properly restrained with a leash. Additionally, leashes help to keep dogs and their owners on the trail, which in turn lessens erosion and damage to research plots.

The Office of the Duke Forest has displayed signs at many of its 45 entry gates noting the leash requirement. In recent years, staff has stepped up trail monitoring to remind visitors of this rule.

Some pet owners may also be surprised to learn that dog waste in the Forest is not only a nuisance for fellow trail walkers, but is a health and pollution risk as well. While other waste can be good fertilizer, waste from dogs both big and small is not. Instead, it can spread disease to other animals and humans. And the waste does not just stay on the trail or in the woods: it can be washed into streams or natural drainages, adding high levels of nutrients and bacteria to local waterways, where it can pollute drinking water and harm aquatic ecosystems.

What are pet owners to do? By bagging the waste and throwing it away in a trash can instead of allowing it to lay on the ground, the waste cannot spread disease to other animals or end up in our water supply.

In an effort to help educate pet owners, Duke Forest staff will be installing new sets of informational signs at a number of gates popular for recreation. The main sign, generously supported by a waste reduction program started by the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education, features a photogenic boxer and information on the problems pet waste pose. The Duke Forest will be one of a number of parks and educational centers that feature the informational signs. Additionally, signs reminding all visitors to the Forest to remove their litter, including bagged pet waste, will also be installed.

So this summer while you are out hiking the Duke Forest and other outdoor facilities with your dogs, please remember to keep them on a leash and clean up after them for everyone's safety and enjoyment.