A Word about Our Dog Friends

People who love nature often also love their domestic pets, and hiking with one's dog is certainly a deeply satisfying experience. So why are dogs only permitted in certain Arc of Appalachia preserves? Here's a full explanation. 

The Arc of Appalachia's primary mission is to preserve intact natural communities - places often simply called "wildlands." Most of Appalachian Ohio's forest communities are deeply disturbed by logging and earlier agricultural activities and have a severely diminished biodiversity on the forest floor. Ohio's wildflowers - once abundant in nearly every cove and stream corridor - are now quite difficult to find. The small florally-rich forest remnants that still exist are often separated by miles of damaged habitat. Although Ohio boasts hundreds of species of native wildflowers, they are not resilient. Restricted by the shade and heavy water requirements of their woody neighbors, herbaceous plants live on a restricted energy budget - only gathering moisture and sunlight for a few weeks a year. It usually requires seven or more years for a wildflower seedling to bloom for the first time, and all wildflowers are easily destroyed in any chapter of their lives by browsing deer, bouquet plucking, and most importantly, soil compaction from the weight of human feet. It is because of flowers' delicacy that trails exist in the first place - in an attempt to keep the impact of our human tread on as small of a footprint as possible. 

The Arc of Appalachia buys the "best of the best" of intact forest communities, most of which have retained their rare floral components. Our staff then designs trails so that visitors can enjoy these wild and beautiful landscapes with minimal damage to them. Arc regulations strictly require that hikers stay on our deliberately narrow trails, and avoid disturbing plants or animals. Unfortunately, even on a leash, dogs tend to bound off the trail. If their presence were unregulated, the rare experience of wildflowers brushing hikers' ankles - as currently enjoyed - would cease and wildflowers would recede further and further away from the trail. Lastly, it hardly needs to be mentioned that some dogs aren't well-behaved or quiet enough to be an appropriate presence in a public wildlands space where visitors are seeking solitude and refreshment.

Another reason why dogs are not permitted on most Arc trails is that many Arc preserves receive important additional protection when they are also designated as natural areas through the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. More than half of the Arc's holdings receive this extra layer of protection. However, when the Arc voluntarily designates its lands as natural areas, those lands are not only governed by Arc visitor regulations but also by Division regulations. For the same reasons as stated above, the Division strictly prohibits dogs on the trails and requests Arc visitors' compliance. See Ohio Administrative Code 1501:17-5-04 | Animals Prohibited.

We understand that some dog owners would make certain that their dog's footprints were as light as their own, and we empathize with such owners' disappointment in our regulations. However, since all of us are by necessity community dwellers, we ask for your acceptance of regulations that govern thousands of dogs and their owners for the worthy purpose of protecting Ohio's rapidly diminishing wildlands.