The City of Winkler’s hunt for a new home for the dog park has it eyeing space beside the Discovery Nature Sanctuary (DNS).
City staff are considering a stretch of greenspace directly south of the nature preserve’s parking lot on the northeast corner of the city, separated from the DNS itself by a row of evergreen trees.
The dog park used to be on unused land beside the water treatment plant north of Hwy. 14 but was dismantled a few years ago while the facility was expanded.
The space left after the expansion is not only smaller than it was but also potentially going to be needed for other projects, so a new place for the dog park is needed.
“The city has reviewed over the last few years many sites and evaluated them against different criteria for trying to determine a good location,” said city manager Jody Penner, noting multiple promising spaces have ended up being rejected, either due to logistical concerns or public outcry in the more residential areas.
That brings them to the DNS-adjacent land, which seems like it might fit the bill—it’s certainly far enough away from any hint of current or future residential development.
“This is one that staff and council have narrowed it down to, but we are looking for some public input,” Penner said.
Anyone with thoughts on the idea they’d like to share in person is invited to the next “Ask the Mayor” event taking place on Tuesday, April 7 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
“What we will do after that is we’ll reconvene to talk about the feedback,” Penner said. “And if there’s big concerns, maybe we can come up with some ways to mitigate those concerns. Or if we can’t, let’s go back to the drawing board.
“But, really, we’ve done a lot of site evaluations and we’re hopeful we can try it here.”
“Not the appropriate site for it”
The idea of putting a dog park beside a nature preserve certainly doesn’t sit well with the members of the Discovery Nature Sanctuary committee.
“There is a need for a dog park in the city, but the proposed location beside the DNS is not the appropriate site for it,” said board chair Paul Goossen.
“The City has graciously provided a special place at the Discovery Nature Sanctuary for people to enjoy, get away from the busyness of life, and discover nature in the city’s back yard, so to speak,” he noted of the 34 acres of natural grasses, wetlands, and woodland habitats. “It’s a quiet place for people to come and enjoy nature.”
Having a dog park right next door puts that quiet at risk, Goossen said.
“The tranquility of the sanctuary will be disrupted by the barking of dogs and by owners calling after their pets,” he said. “There’s also an increased risk of human-dog encounters … dogs may be running loose in the parking lot as owners get them ready to be released into the dog park.
“Not all people like dogs. Some are afraid of them, and some may have had bad encounters with them. So this means a dog park may make the DNS less inviting to visitors.”
If the two sites did end up sharing a parking lot, Goossen noted, it will also mean less spaces for sanctuary users. The site sees an estimated 3,000 visitors a year.
The DNS is also concerned some dog owners may begin using the preserve to walk their pets.
“We already have people occasionally walking their dogs in the DNS, even though there is signage indicating no dogs allowed in the sanctuary,” Goossen said, pointing out there’s also always a chance a dog could break free in the parking lot and make its way into the preserve. “In terms of wildlife, dogs are predators, no matter how cute they may seem to be … their presence is going to have a negative impact on wildlife.”
There are also concerns about whether dog feces not picked up by owners could contaminate the nearby water system.
Goossen said the committee will be sharing all these concerns at the April 7 meeting with the mayor, and they encourage others with thoughts on the proposal to do the same.
“There’s been so many organizations and businesses that have contributed to this space,” he said. “I just think that, given the substantial time and effort that has been put into making the sanctuary an engaging place to visit and a haven for wildlife, it would be a shame to diminish the attractiveness, the solitude, and the experience one can enjoy when visiting the DNS.”
