PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 16, 2022
South Portland’s Dogs and Public Spaces Advisory Committee is exploring how to accommodate large numbers of unleashed dogs and their owners without excluding most others from our public parks, particularly Hinckley and Willard Beach. Both parks are natural habitats for hundreds of woodland and shore birds, including numerous species of migratory birds and ducks. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act it is a federal offense for dogs to chase migrating birds (a near-daily occurrence at Willard Beach, with unleashed dogs chasing birds on land and flushing ducks from the water). Owners can be charged and fined. The sand dunes and dune grass are protected by Maine state laws. Many unleashed dogs routinely run through the dunes, pooping and urinating. ~ Diane Gotelli, South Portland