The Forest Service is cracking down on the growing mounds of doggy doo in Mill Creek Canyon during the winter.
Thousands of cross-country skiers bring their dogs to the canyon, and blotches of dog feces dot the trail.Beginning Nov. 28, animals will be allowed in the canyon on even-numbered days only.
And if the dog owners do not clean up after their animals (and the Forest Service will provide baggies), then the canyon will be closed to dogs entirely during the winter, said Salt Lake District Ranger Mike Sieg.
"We are implementing our version of three strikes and you're out," he said. "If we have 10 days where we find 10 piles that have not been picked up and properly disposed of or 25 citations written for dogs off-leash in the parking areas, dogs will be prohibited from the ski trail for the rest of the winter.
"If this happens three out of the next five years, dogs will be prohibited from the ski trail during the winter for good."
Big and Little Cottonwood canyons already are closed to dogs to protect Salt Lake City watersheds. A ban at Mill Creek during the winter would leave only the lower portion of City Creek as a canyon where dogs are allowed that time of year.
Dog owner Heather Bruhn, who had two animals with her Wednesday in the canyon, said the new regulations didn't upset her because the ski trails get messy in the winter.