Parley's Historic Nature Park has become a highly volatile political football during the past year, involving nature lovers, history enthusiasts and dog owners alike.

The 88-acre swath of land, located off 2700 E. and 2700 South at the base of Parleys Canyon, has long been a haven for bird watchers and nature aficionados. It houses several historical monuments that commemorate the thousands of Mormon pioneers who passed through the area as they entered the Salt Lake Valley.

Now, the historic nature park has also become one of Salt Lake City's five official off-leash dog parks — at least for a one-year trial period.

The change in the park's off-leash status came nearly a year after Millcreek Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space, or F.I.D.O.S., a group of individuals who lobby for off-leash areas, petitioned the city.

The park has been a de facto off-leash area for years, but the announcement that dog owners can now legally let their animals roam free has sparked dissent among the majority of the Canyon Rim Citizens Association and some of the park's other users, who say that city officials have disregarded their concerns.

Opponents point out that the land was donated to the city in the late '70s by private land owners with the explicit intent that it be preserved as a historic nature park.

"I thought originally that (deeding the land to the city) was for a good purpose, but the city has done nothing to preserve it and now they are signing it over for a free dog run," said Preston Hunt, a member of the national board for the Sons of the Utah Pioneers. "I think that is atrocious."

Hunt said that while dogs haven't damaged the stone-encased monuments in Parley's Historic Nature Park, he is worried that their wear and tear on the surrounding area will discourage people from visiting the historic site.

"The damage is bad. Dogs roaming free through the underbrush have created multiple trails and caused erosion," he said. "When you go down there, there are dogs all around you, jumping on you."

Still, Hunt, who grew up around dogs on a farm, said it's not the dogs' presence that he minds so much as the city's indifference to the park's other users.

The Sons of the Utah Pioneers requested that they be allowed to fence dogs away from the monuments, but the city wouldn't even consider it, he said.

The area is significant to the Sons of the Utah Pioneers because it contains 150-year-old pioneer home sites and the remains of an old aqueduct. Part of the original pioneer trail is still visible, Hunt said.