Leash Law Enforcement to begin on Boise River Wildlife Management Area

Unusually warm February weather has brought more recreationalists to the Boise River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) than normal, many of them dog walkers. With the state's largest wintering mule deer herd still eking out a living on WMA lands, enforcement efforts will be stepped up to insure that all WMA users are playing by the rules. Unfortunately, many dog owners taking advantage of the WMA's open space fail to comply with the area's dogs-on-leash-only provision. This rule is in place to reduce increased stress levels among mule deer brought on by a dog running at large. Leash rule enforcement efforts on WMA lands last spring yielded a non-compliance rate of 75 percent, and persons in violation received written warnings rather than citations. "Our goal last year was to educate WMA users, rather than simply write tickets for a violation," Fish and Game conservation officer Ben Cadwallader noted. "Awareness is high among WMA users, so we're hopeful that this year will witness better compliance of a rule designed to increase mule deer survival."