The meetings are hosted by City Councilwoman Jean Quan (District 4 Montclair-Laurel) and the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department.

The goal of the second meeting, scheduled Saturday, is to prioritize the improvement ideas identified by more than 100 hikers, cyclists, dog-walkers and equestrians who attended the first meeting. The meeting was facilitated by Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman Inc., a consulting group based in Berkeley.

"Cooperation is the key word," said Emily Rosenberg who attended the earlier meeting Jan. 8. representing Oakland's Dog Owner Group. "We will continue working with other community groups to ensure that everybody has a good park experience."

There is some concern among competing groups that trail use will be limited, according to Brent Englund of Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay.

Rosenberg, representing Oakland's Dog Owner Group doesn't foresee a problem.

"We have a high percentage of success with interaction among park users doing different activities," she said. "Ninety-nine percent of the people are just thrilled to be in the park."

Some ideas that came out of the first meeting include:

• Maintain, restore and preserve "rustic and wild" environments in the park;
• Maintain and preserve trails;
• Create a fire management program and long-term native vegetation program existing park facilities;
• Create an access plan;
• Create a trail management plan;
• Increase signage;
• Have new activities limited to the southwest portion of the park adjacent to Joaquin Miller Road;
• Promote policies that enhance joint use;
• Provide expanded trash pick-up;
• Incorporate existing pedestrian access studies into Joaquin Miller planning efforts;
• Build a nature education center where users would learn about wildlife, trees, plants, the history of the park, and other environmental/nature-related information;
• Create a coordinated safety improvement plan;
• Seek out alternative funding sources for programs;
• Establish a central information telephone hotline where users can call to report complaints, hazards, and find out general information concerning the park;
• Creating an off-leash dog park with separate sections for larger and smaller dogs.

After the master plan is created, a volunteer task force will be recruited to monitor the improvements.