Nature enthusiasts, including Nancy von Allmen, a member of the Canyon Rim Citizens Association are also upset about the damage they say dogs have caused and the city's apathy regarding it.

The population of songbirds has been decimated and native plants have been destroyed since dogs began running free in Parley's Historic Nature Park, von Allmen said. She estimated that between 600 and 900 dogs run through the park each day.

While some F.I.D.O.S. members deny the loss of wildlife, and no before and after studies have been completed to corroborate the claim, von Allmen and other nature enthusiasts maintain it is true.

"I guess the message from the city is that dogs are more important than people or than nature," von Allmen said. "This is offensive to the people who deeded their land to be used as a historic nature park and to those who donated money to create the nature park."

Von Allmen, who used to breed dogs herself, said she understands that dogs need a place to roam free.

"Just don't take the only nature park in Salt Lake City, or at least just take part of it," she said.

Von Allmen said she and several other nature lovers recently requested that the city allow them to fence off a quarter of the park where most of the songbirds nest, but their request was denied.

The city felt that fencing off an area in the park would be too much of a barrier and would take away from the feeling of being out in nature, said Sheila Yorkin, communications manager for Salt Lake City Public Services.

Designating the park as "off-leash" was an administrative decision, not a referendum, Yorkin said. City officials discussed and evaluated all sides of the issue.

Officials decided they wanted to be able to provide a valuable service to dog owners who come from all over the Salt Lake Valley; they hope users will be able to coexist, she said.

"Just because it is now earmarked as an off-leash park, doesn't by any means mean that people without dogs aren't welcome to use the park," Yorkin said. "The city wants people to come and enjoy it no matter what their use is."

Designating the park as an off-leash area is a step forward for dog owners, who make up over 50 percent of the people in the Salt Lake Valley, said Rita Lund, a F.I.D.O.S. member and a longtime Canyon Rim resident.

"You have a huge user group and there aren't adequate parks for those types of people who prefer this form of recreation," Lund said.

She noted that she pays taxes for golf courses and other public recreation areas that she doesn't use, so it's only fair that the city provide a place where both dogs and their owners can exercise.