Conflict Over Dogs Threatens Public Access to Schenck Forest

Schenck Memorial Forest – N.C. State University’s teaching facility off of Reedy Creek Road in West Raleigh – has long been a much-loved spot among area hikers. But the forest’s popularity among dog owners has created problems that may result in the university limiting public access to the facility.

In a recent post to the Schenck Forest Yahoo! discussion group, Bill Hornsby, founder and leader of People for Unleashed Parks, reported on a meeting he had recently with Schenck Manager Dr. Joe Cox. The get-together came after university law enforcement officers began cracking down on dog owners who allow their animals to run unleashed in violation of park rules.

Cox detailed various complaints he has received in the past few months, such as dog owners becoming belligerent when told to leash their animals and ignoring signs banning the presence of dogs when classes and other scheduled events are in session. He also raised concerns about general overuse of the forest.

In response, forest management plans to intensify enforcement efforts and set up a camera at the facility’s entrance to get a count of people and dogs using the forest.

But that’s not all.

“The more drastic measure under consideration is to terminate public access to the forest by moving the gate to Reedy Creek Road and eliminating any roadside parking or access,” Hornsby wrote. “A less drastic idea would be a similar scenario but permitting public access to the forest only on the weekends.”

Also under consideration: having use of the forest controlled by permit. That would entail charging a fee and using the revenue to hire additional security. Hornsby asks people to send their thoughts on these ideas to him at offleashparks@mindspring.com.

“We need to consider all possible solutions,” he concluded. “It’s time to do a little soul searching to determine how much Schenck Forest means to us!”