"We're going to be strapped this year, and we're struggling," Kulla said. "We support reduction of the national deficit. We've got to do our part. But we're trying real hard at the same time to provide quality service to the general public and folks around Missoula."

Hikers out with pooches on a jaunt for some exercise aren't the only kind of folks putting pressure on public lands. Commercial dog walkers also take troops of pets to run in the forest, but Kulla said the U.S. Forest Service currently permits just one dog-walking business in the Missoula Ranger District.

"We're not open to issuing any more of these permits. We have this one, and we manage it pretty tightly. The impact of that sort of activity on the general recreating public is high," Kulla said.

While he said rangers may miss some things, compliance with the permit rules, such as ones for waste pickup, are high. He doesn't believe there's too many dog walkers without permits in the district, and officers talk with interlopers when they see them pull up to a trailhead with a bunch of dogs.

Quick Paws holds the permit, and owner Charla Bitney said she buys baggies by the case. The permit allows the dog walkers to head to more remote areas of the national forest lands. Quick Paws also uses private land.