Dog owners in the Bay Area will get their chance Friday to chew over a voluminous management plan for man's best friend on Golden Gate National Recreation Area land - a proposal that would require dogs to be leashed in many areas where they once ran free and would ban them entirely from other areas.

The preferred alternative outlined in the new 2,400-page document says park officials should keep dogs out of parts of San Francisco's Crissy Field, Ocean Beach and Fort Funston. They would be banned entirely at Muir Beach, a decades-old hound haven in Marin County.

The exhaustive plan, which at 14.7 pounds weighs twice as much as a Chihuahua, was deemed necessary in large part because past efforts to restrict off-leash dogs infuriated pet owners, who say there is no way to give a canine adequate exercise on a leash.

Protests, civil disobedience and court challenges ensued, and at one point San Francisco supervisors threatened to take back parklands from the federal government if off-leash rights were revoked.

Leash laws were eventually implemented on portions of Ocean Beach under an emergency order to protect the snowy plover, a federally protected bird, but a 2005 U.S. District Court decision prohibited controversial changes in the recreation area's 1979 pet policy unless the park completed a lengthy public rule-making process.

Balancing needs of users

Frank Dean, the superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said the proposal is an attempt to balance the needs of all the users while protecting natural and historic resources.

"The status quo is not really tenable," Dean said. "It's confusing where you can go with your dog, and some people are not comfortable with dogs. ... Our goal here is to bring some clarity to it. It will remain the only national park where you can take your dog off-leash."

The combination dog management plan and draft environmental report analyzes five alternatives for dog walking in 21 areas of the 75,000-acre park, which encompasses parts of San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties.

Dean said the goal of the draft plan is to come up with a policy that is fair to everybody, but many canine fanciers have long been skeptical. They believe the recreation area simply wants to rescind the 1979 policy, which set aside about 1 percent of the park for people to romp free with their furry friends.

No day at the beach

The recreation area's preferred alternative is likely to curl a few more lips, particularly in San Francisco and Marin.

Among other things, the plan would prohibit dogs on or off-leash at East Beach, the most popular off-leash area at Crissy Field. The wildlife protection area and tidal marsh at Crissy Field also would be off-limits to dogs. Off-leash dogs would be allowed on Central Beach, a long section of beach just west of the artificial tidal inlet, and in the central grassy portion of the Crissy Air Field, according to the proposal.

Ocean Beach, Fort Funston

On Ocean Beach, off-leash dog walking would be allowed only north of Stairwell 21, which is closest to the Cliff House. No dogs at all would be allowed south of that area on the beach.

Fort Funston dog walkers would be limited to unleashing their pets south of the beach access trail and north of the main parking lot. Battery Davis, the Sunset and Horse trails and the bluffs overlooking the beach would be off-limits. The parking lot, sand ladder and other trails would require dogs to be on leashes.

All off-leash areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area would require dog owners to have their pets under voice control.

The proposed ban at Muir Beach is sure to upset Marin County dog owners, who have been among the most frequent beach visitors for 40 years, especially on cold, windy and foggy days. The most galling aspect for the dog-owning beachgoers is bound to be the fact that many of them supported the restoration of the adjacent Redwood Creek tidal lagoon, which is now being used as the primary reason for banning their four-legged companions.

Dog lovers in Marin won't be getting any breaks elsewhere if the park's preferred alternative is selected: Of the six Marin County portions of the national parkland where dogs currently run off-leash, including numerous trails, only two would still permit off-leash dogs.

Large increase in visitors

Rover would still be allowed unleashed on the largest part of Rodeo Beach in the Marin headlands, but not on the narrow southern portion, or South Rodeo Beach. Oakwood Valley, which is often crowded with dog walkers, would still allow unrestrained pooches, but only on a fire trail. The lower section of Oakwood Valley Trail, which is used by dog walkers to complete a hiking loop, would prohibit all dogs. The trail up to the ridge that connects to Alta Trail would require leashes.

Most areas in the Peninsula would continue to require leashes, but the proposal would prohibit all dogs on Sweeney Ridge.

The dog issue is a hot topic at least in part because of a dramatic increase in the number of people visiting the recreation area over the past two decades. As complaints about dogs and poop increased, bird lovers started campaigning against what they called "domesticated predators."

Protecting plants, species

Some conservationists say dogs trample native vegetation and disturb many of the 75 protected species that live in or are dependent on the recreation area for migration.

Stephen Sayad, who successfully fought a ticket for walking his dog off-leash and is a member of the San Francisco Dog Owners Group, said former San Francisco Mayor Joe Alioto deeded Ocean Beach, among other areas, for use only as recreation areas. Reversion provisions that would allow the city to reclaim the beach were included, he said, in case the Golden Gate National Recreation Area tried to block such recreation, presumably including dog walking.

"Rest assured that a reversion action will be brought upon the first hint by the GGNRA of any change," Sayad wrote in a recent e-mail.

The dog management plan will undergo a 90-day public comment period starting Jan. 14. A final decision is not expected until 2012.