Over three days, an estimated $3,000-$5,000 of damage was done to a series of fences and posts erected to protect sensitive ecosystems at PKOLS (Mount Douglas Park). 

“Fences were bent, posts were pulled out, and 21 posts were removed and stolen,” the mayor’s office told Capital Daily late Friday. Staff have repaired what they could, a spokesperson said, but the trail will be closed for an indefinite period for future work.

The vandalism prompted Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock to release a video message, denouncing the destruction.

“Damage to the fence costs taxpayers money, and it takes our park staff away from the important work that they can be doing around Saanich,” the mayor said.

Murdock calls PKOLS one of his favourite hikes, and he says he knows it’s a lot of people’s go-to.

“And that’s why it’s so disappointing to see the newly installed fencing vandalized,” he says in the video.

“Let’s not put that at risk.” When asked what he meant by that, the mayor said, “We want people to continue to be able to exercise their dogs, but the alternative may be to have dogs on-leash only, which nobody wants.”

Murdock didn't indicate whether there was any indication of who was responsible for the vandalism and said the District will be taking additional actions to secure the construction site along the leash-optional trail.

The dog issue has been an evolving one

The off-leash dog debate at PKOLS has taken years to resolve. Under new bylaws and as part of Saanich’s People, Pets, and Parks Strategy, dogs are now only allowed off-leash on a specific 2.3-kilometre loop—a significant reduction from the 20+ km of space they once roamed.

It’s primarily on the Glendenning Trail where new fencing and signage began to go up in late February. Finalized maps for the leash-optional area were made public on Jan. 20, and construction of the fencing, along with the addition of benches and signage, began last month and continues.

According to the District’s 2026 draft financial plan, Saanich is investing $150,000 to install fencing, signage, and amenities, but not everyone likes the new look. 

Not a fan of the fence

The CRD DOGG (Dog Owners and Friends for Good Governance) Society, a nonprofit based in Saanich that advocates for off-leash spaces, calls it “awful.”

“I'm in the park every day and have heard no one say anything good about [it]," says society president Eulala Mills.

“These fences, as big, ugly, and aggressive as they are, don’t keep people or dogs out, either. The fence has many large gaps—it has to, given the terrain and the need for wildlife to be able to move through the park."

Mills contends the fencing is an overreach and gives the impression of walking through a pen.

“It's about the character and beauty of a rare urban natural park being wrecked by cheap-looking, big, ugly wire fences,” she says, adding hikers would be better served with more of the rustic split-rail fencing that dots the area. The District said the wooden split-rail fencing is “quite a bit more expensive and would not prevent dogs and people from going off-trail."

Over time, the page-wire fencing will become less noticeable as vegetation grows behind it, the spokesperson said. However, Mills sees it differently.

"It's tens of thousands of tax dollars being spent, and the fences are truly ruining the park.” 

The project is in its early stages, and the District said the total cost, taking the vandalism damage into account, will be known at a later date.