County debates dog policy, impacts on 910 ranch wildlife

As the county has looked to residents for feedback on how best to use the ranch, officials have gathered academic research on recreation impacts, including dogs.

County Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby said the research shows dogs are among the most disruptive visitors to wildlife habitat.

“We have to remember that dogs are a subspecies of wolf, and animals respond to carnivores,” she said at a March 18 open house about a recent community survey.

Earlier this year, Kirby’s department surveyed residents about the future of the county’s largest open space acquisition, the 910 Cattle Ranch in western Summit County.

There’s majority support for some degree of recreation on the property.

And 54% say they support dogs on trails — if the county builds trails. Eleven percent are neutral; 35% say no dogs.

But Kirby, a dog owner herself, who hikes with her dog, said there are trade-offs to consider with the other top community priority: wildlife protection.

“We are not taking dogs off of the list yet, but it is a consideration that we are looking at very seriously,” Kirby said.

Dogs are banned in the Cottonwood canyons, too, to protect Salt Lake City’s watershed.

When it comes to wildlife, even dog urine can repel other animals, who register the dogs as predators. Research out of Colorado shows animals stay farther from dogs than they do from people, horses or bikes, according to Kirby.

She said leash laws and poop laws are already not followed on East Canyon Road, the only part of the 910 currently open to the public.

Summit County requires dogs to be on a physical leash or e-collar except in designated off-leash areas like the Run-a-Muk dog park.

Kirby said county animal control has upped enforcement along the road that runs through the 910, citing dog owners who don’t follow the law. That includes picking up the dog’s poop.

The property owner has kept the ranch as a de facto wildlife preserve for years and sold it to Summit County on the condition hunting is banned there forever.

The county’s public lands department says its survey of residents is statistically valid.

During the planning process, Kirby said the ranch may continue to be closed for years — the county says it does not want to rush.

It has until 2027 to close the $55 million purchase, and has taken over property management in the meantime.

Closing has been delayed about four months following the federal funding freeze, but Kirby said the money is released and hopes to close in August.

Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.

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