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• • EXHIBIT D DR. RHODA M. LOVE 393 FULVUE DRIVE January 15, 1992 EUGENE, OREGON 97405 Doug Post Eugene Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services 210 Cheshire Street Eugene, OR 97401 Dear Mr. Post Thank you for asking for my opinion about the impact of dogs on the Wayne Morse Park. I am a botanist with an MS from the University of Washington and a PhD from the University of Oregon. My doctoral research was on Willamette Valley Plant Ecology. I have lived for 26 years in the Crest Drive neighborhood approximately four blocks from the Wayne Morse Park. My husband and I were members of the first citizen group that worked to save the Morse property for a city park. We believe it is a valuable resource for our neighborhood and for the city of Eugene. We lived here when Senator Morse was alive. At that time cattle and horses grazed the pasture now used for dogs. I have spent many hours walking through the Wayne Morse Park and enjoying its natural attributes, the stream, trees and wildflowers. I am in favor of providing some places where dogs can be exercised off their leashes, and at first I thought the Wayne Morse Park would be an ideal place for this activity. I believed that the pasture, which is composed of various tough, perennial, introduced pasture grasses, including fescues and timothy, would be able to withstand the impact of dogs. However, I have now changed my mind. I toured the pasture in December, and was surprised at the damage to the environment that I noticed. The grasses have been worn away from large areas of the pasture, leaving bare soil which will be subject to erosion. Muddy trails across the pasture also have the potential to become erosion gullies. The banks of the small creek that meanders across the pasture have become badly eroded and are slumping and the water is muddy. And, most serious, I believe, the relatively pristine oak woodland to the north of the pasture, is suffering