Nothing helps Nat Gray unwind from a long day at work like taking his black Lab Rupert for a walk on the miles of open beach at Empire.

NAT GRAY of Empire takes a break while was
walking on his favorite Lakeshore trail just north
of Empire with his dog, Rupert. Lakeshore officials
have placed several areas that are now off-limits
to pets, and Gray said he’s upset that the public
had no chance to comment on the new policy.

Walking the trails and beaches that make up the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of the reasons the Empire native made Empire his home and raise a family.

“I literally walk somewhere in the park with my dog every day of the year unless I am on vacation. The majority of that is on the beach, even in the middle of February, if the wind isn’t nuts,” he said.

Gray was caught off guard, however, when he took Rupert down a trail that leads to one of his favorite beach walks along the Lake Michigan shoreline near North Bar Lake. He reached the end of the trail that leads to the beach and stopped to read a new sign. It showed an image of a person with a dog on a leash, and a slash through it. At the bottom it reads “No Pets.”

Gray discovered the beach was one of several new areas that have been declared off-limits to dogs by Lakeshore officials. “I’ve been walking that trail my whole life and that was the first time I ever saw a sign like that,” he said.

Prior to the change in April, there were nine areas where pets were prohibited: the Manitou islands; the County Road 651 beach (1/4-mile south from road end); Cannery Beach at Glen Haven, (1/4-mile northwest of Maritime Museum); Little Glen Lake beach; N. Bar Lake, including a quarter-mile north of outlet into Lake Michigan; Esch Road Beach (1/4-mile south of road access); Peterson Beach (1/14-mile south and west of road access); and Platte Point Beach (1/4-mile on both sides of Lake Michigan Road).

Under the new rules the following areas are closed to pets: from the south Lakeshore boundary line in Benzie County to the trail from Platte River Campground; from Peterson Beach parking lot north to Esch Road; from the north end of N. Bar Lake north around Sleeping Bear Point to Cannery Beach at Glen Haven; and from the County Road 669 road end north to the Count Road 651 road end.

Larry Johnson, chief ranger for the lakeshore, said management officials with the Lakeshore revised areas where people can walk their pets on a leash in response to an ongoing problem of irresponsible pet owners.

“We have had a continual problem with irresponsible pet owners over the years and we are trying to find a balance,” he said. Johnson said more of his rangers’ time was being spent dealing with complaints about dogs running loose on Lakeshore beaches. In 2007, Johnson’s department handled 141 complaints related to dogs, of which about 50 percent received citations. In 2006, there were 156 complaints.

It wasn’t just the nuisance of the dogs off leashes that concerned Johnson and other Lakeshore officials. They’re also concerned about the health of the dogs, and the potential for dogs off their leash to eat birds and other wildlife killed by high E. coli bacteria.

Johnson emphasized that many of the traditional areas where people have been allowed to walk their pets on a leash are still open. No matter where people walk their pets in the Lakeshore, federal rules require them to be on leash with a maximum length of six feet. An exception is allowed for hunters using dogs.

Gray said what was puzzling to him was seeing the rules appear with no chance for public comment.

“I do think there are some areas of the park where pets should not be due to large quantities of people. I was happy with the old regs. We’ll see what happens, but I find it interesting that they are very forthcoming about the general management plan but just slip this one through,” he said.

Johnson said the Lakeshore has received numerous written and verbal complaints on the matter, including public input gathered as part of the general management plan update. As to why officials didn’t notify the public about the impending change, Johnson said it was strictly a management area issue.

“We know it isn’t the people like Mr. Gray who are the problem. It’s the irresponsible pet owner who have caused this change,” he said.

Sleeping Bear superintendent Dusty Shultz said people should keep in mind that much of the Lakeshore’s beaches are still open to pets.

“We ask that everyone recognize that we are doing our best to serve all of our visitors with this new policy,” she said.

Go to www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/pets.html for a map of where pets are allowed.