This community, who walk their dogs off-leash in Lighthouse Field State Park, was formed out of this common interest. Over the years people became acquainted with one another—often learning the dog’s name first. Over time, acquaintances became friends. Friends began to meet at the field or the beach each morning and each evening to walk together while their dogs enjoyed some off-leash time. The tradition of gathering as friends, acquaintances, and strangers has come about through the joy of walking with our dogs off-leash.

• A field of diversity. The people who use the field and the beach make up a diverse group that parallels the city at large. Couples, singles, college students, young children, people in wheelchairs, joggers, elderly people, parents pushing baby carriages — they are all at this beautiful park everyday, rain or shine. This is the Lighthouse Field community. All of these people, diverse in many regards, have formed a familiarity, a connection and community out of the common enjoyment and pleasure of walking in the open with their dogs. The Field is also the only wheelchair accessible park where people with physical limitations can enjoy an open-space trail setting with their dog off-leash.
• Urban space for an urban community. Animal experts recommend off-leash exercise as the most humane and best exercise to maintain the physical and behavioral health of dogs. Medical doctors give us humans similar advice regarding regular walks and fresh air. Lighthouse Field and Its Beach are unique to the extent that they are centrally located, have numerous access points, with convenient parking. In this setting, a person can arrive before or after work, enjoy the outdoors and wonderful views while providing their dog with healthy off-leash exercise at the same time. It is the rare individual these days who can afford an hour walk in a large open park plus another hour at some other place so their dog can exercise. This is the only location in the city that allows people to combine these activities.
• Peer influence. Most community members set good examples of cleanup and behavior, and this has a positive influence on other users. Friendly and informal peer pressure and good examples of pet ownership help keep the park clean and peaceful. Last year, Friends of Lighthouse Field, in conjunction with Parks and Recreation, held a community meeting at Louden Nelson Center to talk about dog training, appropriate behavior in the park, and how to better understand how dogs relate to other dogs and to people. There have also been other events, radio shows, and planned public service announcements and other activities to encourage and education dog owners and the public about these issues.
• Eyes and ears. Because of the regular use of the park, the community has become the "eyes and ears" of the park. In many urban parks, there is some pressure to clear brush in order to remove hiding places for drunks, drug users, sexual predators and the like. Lighthouse Field has not been heavily cleared and yet it remains one of the safest and cleanest parks in the city system. Paths hidden by trees and shrubs remain safe because of the frequency of the dog walkers. Because citizens freely use all of the trails, negative behaviors can quickly be reported and responded to by the police, park rangers, Animal Services or other agencies. The morning and afternoon presence of this protective community is most certainly a deterrent to human compliance issues that might increase if this positive community were driven out.
• Positive influences at the Beach. We believe the same positive influences exist at Its Beach. Unlike the Main Beach or Natural Bridges, there are no lifeguards or other supervision. Its Beach has experienced some trouble with drinking, fighting and similar behavior. But during the 4pm to sunset off-leash hours, the beach attracts increased numbers of responsible community members. Their presence helps to maintain a calm, family-safe atmosphere at Its Beach.
• History of Community Participation. Lighthouse Field and Its Beach have benefited from a high degree of community support. The park itself was saved from planned destruction by community involvement almost thirty years ago. In recent years, the dog owners who use the park have developed into a close-knit community who know each other, regularly socialize in the park in a quiet way, organize community events such as informal holiday celebrations in the park, and who all cherish the park and beach. With only the most informal organization, community members have organized protective actions such as periodic park cleanup days, flyers and posters for compliance reminders, and replenishing plastic bag supplies.
• Formalizing the community: Friends of Lighthouse Field. On March 28th, 2002, out of rumors and concern about the loss of this wonderful place to take dogs off-leash, friends and acquaintances from the Lighthouse Field and Its Beach dog community decided to form a more formal organization to express their views and concerns, dispel rumors and provide a unified voice that would represent the basic desire to maintain the undeveloped beauty of Lighthouse Field and support multi-use recreation at the site which includes off-leash dogs. A community meeting was held to create a simple, unifying statement of purpose for the group: "We support the preservation of the beauty and recreation opportunities for humans and dogs off leash at Lighthouse Field and Its Beach" now has over 2500 people who agree with this statement.
• Environmental Stewardship. The FOLF steering committee members are excited to move forward with the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Department to form an alliance and bring greater "environmental stewardship" potential to the Field and Beach. When a community is as cohesive and energetic as FOLF, it is a natural next step to have even more direct involvement with city departments to address and assist in pertinent issues such as clean up, compliance and safety concerns. We are proposing that we begin FOLF’s "Community-based Park Conservancy and Dog Use Plan" (see www.folf.orgfor a copy) as a starting point to address some of these issues. The plan was written by members of Friends of Lighthouse Field in the summer of 2002 and presented to the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Commission as a collaborative plan to help educate, maintain, and provide a proactive framework to manage the off-leash dog recreation.

• Continue the tradition and secure a community to benefit the city. The strength of a city is in the bonds that exist within its smaller communities often brought together by geography, culture, or in this case a common recreational activity. By continuing the tradition of off-leash dogs at the field and beach, you secure for the city a strong, friendly, established and diverse community of people.
• Collaborate and communicate. Continue to collaborate with FOLF to extend the community outreach and education about public safety issues and responsible dog ownership, park stewardship. With budget cuts and staff layoffs, FOLF members are willing to step up to help with the care and preservation of this undeveloped space. Partner with FOLF to create formal docent programs and communication opportunities.
• Keep the trails and beach open. With many users frequenting the nooks and crannies of the park, there are fewer opportunities for criminal behavior. For the same reason, when there are people congregating at the beach for shared recreation, there is a different atmosphere so fights, drinking, and drug use become visible to a group that will actively report the behavior. Leverage the presence of this community to discourage negative activity and keep these spaces safe.
• Consider the expansion of hours and space for off-leash dogs. Those who do not want to share open space with off-leash dogs have about 1,800 acres within the city limits to choose from. People with dogs have approximately 40 acres. There is clearly an expressed need to expand this type of recreation. Ignoring this need does nothing to inspire or plant the seeds of community that can grow out of a common interest as has been demonstrated at Lighthouse Field and Its Beach.

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