Park may be going to the dogs

Plans for Spokane’s first off-leash dog park have hit a snag.

The park is proposed for 3.2 acres under the railroad and Interstate 90 bridges in High Bridge Park just west of downtown.

Late last week, park developers were told that a peregrine falcon, an endangered species, has a nest on one of the bridge eaves directly over the proposed park.

The nest has been there for seven years, and many of the bird’s offspring have been raised in the area, said Christine Deviny, executive director of the Spokane Parks Foundation.

The site is considered one of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s most successful habitats for the peregrine falcon, Deviny said.

When the peregrines leave the nest, they drop to the ground, where they continue developing. If the baby falcons were to drop into the middle of a dog park, they would be in big trouble.

In a meeting with Howard Ferguson, district wildlife biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Deviny said that with some minor changes in the location of the dog park, the falcons and dogs could coexist. Those changes include moving the dog park about 30 yards and relocating its entrance.

Parks officials and representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Department are trying to set up a meeting to work out details, Deviny said.

Veterinarian Brian Hunter has offered both personal and professional help in developing the park.

“There are lots of people who would love to have a place for their dogs to run in a fenced-in area. The dogs have a chance to get the exercise and socialization they need. They’re safely confined so they aren’t going to run away or endanger other people or their property,” said Hunter.

A public meeting planned for July will be postponed until August because of the falcon.

Three citizens committees will be formed: a committee to research dog parks across the nation to determine what features to include, a committee to come up with fund-raising strategies and a committee to patrol and monitor vicious dogs, ensure voluntary cleanup and educate people about protection of the peregrine falcon.

The biggest hurdle facing the park may not be the falcon but a lack of “money and energy,” Hunter said.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Department’s Web site, peregrines had declined worldwide by the early 1970s due to the use of DDT. Peregrines prey on smaller birds, which feed on insects targeted by pesticides. The contamination made egg shells too thin, reducing the birds’ reproductive rate.

In 1980, Washington had only two known nesting pairs of peregrine falcons. By 2000, a total of 52 pairs produced 75 young. Of the 73 peregrine territories the Fish and Wildlife Department monitored across the state in 2001, only one was in the Spokane area.