Dogs banned on four Palm Springs hiking trails to protect bighorn sheep

If you enjoy hiking with your dog, your trail options are now more limited after dogs have been banned on four popular trails in Palm Springs. News Channel 3’s Caitlin Thropay has the reason why.

Lace up your hiking boots, grab some water but leave your furry friends at home.

A violation of these “No dogs allowed on trails” signs could cost you a fine of up to $500 dollars.

We met with the Palm Springs assistant city manager Marcus Fuller on why these signs were recently put up at four popular Palm Springs hiking trails.

“The whole purpose of the plan is to protect endangered species,” Fuller told News Channel 3.

Living in the mountains surrounding the Coachella Valley are Peninsular Bighorn Sheep. In recent years, experts have found a link between dogs and the decline in population of these sheep.

“They’re harmful to sheep,” he said. “They don’t mean to, but they will run after sheep, and they will scare the sheep,” Fuller added.

Signs are now up at Araby trail, Museum trail and North and South Lykken trails. First time violators will receive a warning but after the warning comes fines.

“The first violation is $100, the next one is $250 and the final one is $500. We hope that you don’t have somebody ignoring the education and the positive benefit of why we are in this case restricting dogs from trails to protect the sheep,” he said.

After hearing the news, some dog owners are not thrilled about the new restriction.

“I just recently moved here from North Carolina and we did all this research about the local trails and local wildlife and everything there is to see and we were hoping to take our new one-year-old dog with us but unfortunately in a lot of areas that is not the case,” Anthony Bernard said.

And for Bernard, having his dog with him is more than just recreation but also a way to stay safe.

“I see it more of a safety value to have an animal with you. They’re going to notice any oncoming predators before you are and kind of give you a heads up so to me it’s a little ridiculous to not have your animals with you on a trail of all things,” he said.

The city of Palm Springs is hoping to educate the community.

“We’re going to educate the public and explain to the public because we are a dog friendly city and why in this case we are having to take the step which is inconsistent with our goal to be a dog friendly city but that dogs are harmful to the sheep,” Fuller said.

The city encourages dog owners to utilize other ways to enjoy time outdoors with your dog.

“There’s a lot of other opportunities to enjoy your dogs in the city with the City Link which is a good amenity to bring your dog on a walk. We have a lot of trails throughout the city not necessarily on the mountains. We have a dog park, and we are looking at expanding and providing additional dog parks in the future, so we just continue to work to be the best dog friendly city as possible,” Fuller said.

If you want an easy way to find out what trails are dog friendly and which are not; check out the free app called “All Trails.”

You can also visit the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan‘s website for more information.