BOZEMAN — There are stations at the M Trail with clean-up bags meant to keep dog waste off the trail, but a lot more people lately have been noticing that there's more dog poop on the trails, leading to a smelly situation.
“Just seeing like, the bag with the plastics out there stuff, it's just like, oh, they’re littering and stuff,” says Kaden Ramos, a regular hiker at the trail.
Ramos and Talyn Hagleberg have been walking their dog Maggie for over three years at the M trail and they say have noticed more bags of poop along the trail. Kat Barker, Recreation Program Manager, Custer-Gallatin National Forest for the Bozeman District, says the district gets plenty of calls about the poop.
“We do have folks calling in with varying degrees of frustration, and it's been it's been an ongoing problem for sure,” says Barker.
Barker says most of the poop that the rangers see is at the beginning of the trail.
“Really within that first quarter mile to half mile, that's where we see the biggest impact of dog waste,” says Barker.
Barker says while the poop can be an eyesore and a foul smell, it can also lead to bigger problems.
“It can also impact water quality, which can be a concern for people in the area,” says Barker.
Barker says right now rangers pick up waste from one collector, and soon people can expect a new spot to throw their dogs' poop out.
“We have one waste receptacle right now. We are adding one other one by the end of the summer,” says Barker.
Talyn and Kaden say that even with the busy trail, it won't stop them from enjoying the experience.
“Now, that COVID's kind of less of a thing now, people are like, you know, out about more,” says Ramos.
Barker says rangers could ticket people for littering but find it challenging to find people who leave their waste.
Forest service staff says always practice good trail etiquette and pick up after you and your four-legged friends for all to enjoy.
