Don't forget to BAN the babies too! If you want to address what factors negatively affects DCHS, and the well being of the area, its people, and thier actions, as the component that goes beyond anything else. What they do is off the scale compared to how the visitation of dogs affect the area. People: leave trash, bring glass, light fires, cut down trees, drip wax, damage pools, make campsites, violate all the rules of the USFS, etc. Dogs don't do any of these things. If you want to ban the biggest problem for the springs, might as well go right to the source, the uncaring people who visit. This rash, experienced by some people, after long soaks, goes away usually within 24 hours, and most people, never experience it at all. What causes it, nobody has determined that, there is no " proof " of what it is, or that dogs even have anything to do with it, and I serriously doubt that the cause, has anything to do with dogs. In my opinion, its much more likely that people could be the source. I don't take my dogs in the pools because I know that most people prefer this. Its not because I think that dogs present more of a sanitary problem than humans. There are countless organism I'm sure, in the hotpools, in Deep Creek, in the dirt. I for one am not fearful of a good soak in the hotpools, a swim in the creek, or touching the dirt with my skin, while I'm at DCHS, or anywhere else along the creek. I think you are making more out of this situation than is at all warranted. There is naturally going to be differant opinions on this subject. I don't want to see a ban on dogs, or babies :-) There is no fence made that can keep them out, or in :-) One person died of an Ameoba who had visited DCHS back in the 70's. There was no proof that this bug came from DCHS waters. A woman died a while back getting caught in a snow storm hiking out from DCHS. Should we ban visitation there on snowy days because of this. Those of you who are fearful of whats causing this rash will have to identify what causes the condition first, before it makes sense in talking about what the possible solution to fixing this problem will be. As it stands, the springs are open to both people, and dogs, and I'm glad for that.
