The "Tragedy of the Commons" is an economic concept that describes the fate of many shared resources. A shared resource, such as the classic example of the village commons in Medieval England, is available to all and there are few constraints to prevent over-use, leading to depletion of the resource.
The parcel of land you see across the road, behind the industrial chain-link fence, was the Elk Meadow dog park. It grew from 6 acres in 2001, to over 100 acres. It featured two large fenced areas and miles of off-leash trails. It was dedicated to John Quackenboss, an animal-lover who died in a plane crash, by his mother, Judi, who helped found the park.
It was probably the best dog park I've ever visited; plenty of room to roam and a nice little creek for the dogs to splash around in. Unfortunately, word got out and soon cars were lining both shoulders for a half-mile on most weekend days, creating a traffic hazard. A volunteer group tried to help by doing a massive cleanup one weekend. When a photograph documented the tons of dog poo they removed that day…well, when that photo got out, it was all the authorities needed to shut it down.
These days I take my dogs to lots of different places, mostly on long geocaching hikes. We are blessed with more public land nearby than almost anywhere else in the U.S., crisscrossed with faint paths and game trails that only the geocachers seem to know about. Let's keep it that way!
You are looking for a 4-inch square, plastic, camo-ed container.
Tragedy of the Commons
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