Game warden embraces backcountry isolation

After several years of working in the Eureka area, game warden Ben Chappelow said he is settling in well to his new position patrolling the Spotted Bear and Hungry Horse ranger districts south and east of Columbia Falls.

While Chappelow is still getting to know his new coverage area, which includes much of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, he said he’s quickly coming to love the rustic beauty it has to offer. Despite having to spend much of his time patrolling on horseback, Chappelow said he never feels truly isolated.

“I’m still learning about working in the backcountry, but there are a lot more people back there than people realize. More than I realized,” Chappelow said. “There were days this summer when I checked more fishermen in the Bob that I would have on any day in Eureka. There’s this perception that it is remote and wild in the Bob, but I never feel like I am all that far from anyone when I am back there.”

Originally from Indiana, Chappelow said he first thought about becoming a game warden after hearing one speak at his junior high career fair.

“I didn’t even know the job of game warden existed before that middle school job fair,” he said. “This guy came in and told me he was getting paid to go out and check on hunters and fishermen and be in the woods all day. It was also like being a cop, which I thought was cool, so I thought it sounded like a good fit for me.”

AFTER GRADUATING from the University of Montana with a degree in wildlife biology in 2006, Chappelow went to work as a game warden for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in the Flathead Valley before transferring to Eureka at the end of 2011. After eight years there, he made the move to Columbia Falls in August 2020 to fill the shoes of longtime area game warden Perry Brown, who retired at the end of 2019.

After spending much of his time in Eureka dealing with wildlife management issues, including dealing with bears, mountain lions and numerous injured deer, Chappelow said he is looking forward to the unique challenges that come with patrolling the Bob.

“Anything you can imagine happening to a deer will usually happen right around Christmas when you don’t really want to go out. That’s one lesson I learned while working in Eureka,” he recalled with a laugh. “Seriously, though, there were a lot of wildlife management issues up there. Patrolling the Bob is kind of like stepping back in time a little bit. It is still patrolled the same way it was back in the early 1900s. We still have to go in on horseback in the summer and on skis or snowshoes in the winter. It forces you to get out of your truck and patrol in a new way.”

When he is not patrolling the backcountry on horseback, skis, snowshoes or snowmobile, Chappelow enjoys teaching hunter safety courses and helping the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts.

While he said helping others deal with their problems is a rewarding part of his job, Chappelow noted it also can be quite frustrating at times.

“You want to be able to go out and help people solve their problems, but oftentimes solving a problem for one person creates a problem for someone else,” he said. “You have to weigh what is best for everyone and make good decisions for the right reasons. You can’t just try to be a people pleaser. Many times, the right decision is not the most popular one.”

A recipient of the state’s Game Warden Excellence Award while working in Eureka in 2016, Chappelow said he is quite glad his career helped him find his way to Montana.

“Being a game warden was something I always wanted to do and I was willing to go anywhere in the country to do it. I landed in Montana and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to live and work,” he said. “I’ve always been into hunting and fishing and Montana is a great place to do both.”

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.