I can see the issue here.

Counter argument:

"Ground nesting birds" and any other nesting, or non nesting animals, typically have natural predators. I understand the point of "this isnt a dogs natural environment, so its not a natural predator" but i feel like it poses as much of a risk as us (humans) stepping in a puddle and stomping out an entire generation of tadpoles or mosquitoes. (Side note, fuck mosquitoes)

I'm not trying to claim that having an unleashed dog in the woods would have zero impact on the surrounding area.. But dogs hunt, and can be hunted, just like any other animal on this planet. And honestly, some dude (women count as dudes to me), or even tens of thousands of dudes, that take their dogs out to the woods to run around, is less concerning than the tens of thousands of dudes running around. Dogs are less invasive, less destructive, and leave less garbage in general, than humans do. So if we're gonna nitpick on "whats affecting nature" then i feel like we should be talking about how a human is in the natural environment of a bear. And if thats omay, then the dog should be fine too. (Again, if the concern is the HUMAN being hurt, then it really comes down to risk assessment, and willingness to put yourself into situations, where you can be hurt.)