Tips from a local Game Warden

Originally from Odessa, Texas, Mineral County Game Warden Justin Singleterry, moved up to Montana in December 2002.

“I had just got out of the military and I was looking for a place to go to school,” Singleterry said. “My brother had moved up here and said that there were schools up here I might look into.”

Singleterry started attending school, but was called back into the military to go to Iraq. He put school on hold in 2005 and when he returned, finally finished classes. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Montana’s School of Forestry in Natural Resource Conservation.

Singleterry said that as a kid he always wanted to be a game warden, but he soon found out that it wasn’t an easy job to get into.

Singleterry had to wait for a general to come arouund and it took about a year from the time he initially applied to the time he was hired Singleterry started working in the warden district in Mineral County in July of 2010.

“I just really enjoy being out and talking to hunters, anglers and people enjoying recreational activities,” Singleterry said. “They’re out doing the same thing I like to do. I like coming upon a kid who just shot his first buck and he’s so excited.”

“And its either people purposely doing something wrong or made a mistake,” Singleterry said. “But it’s about protecting the resource for future generations.”

Singleterry said that he hasn’t planned any educational meetings for the public, but that is something he’d like to focus on if he can. One of the things he’d like to educate the public on is bears.

“It seems like Mineral County does have a huge bear problem, but a lot of the time, it’s what I like to call a people problem.”

Last spring, and in the fall, Singleterry said that every week he would get anywhere from five to fifteen calls from individuals who were having a problem with a bear.

“What happens is I would get a call from someone and they would have a bear in their garbage and want me to come trap the thing. But that’s not how it’s supposed to work,” Singleterry said. “You need to take the steps to put the garbage away properly and put away attractants and if the bear continues to come back, then I’ll set a trap.”

Singleterry said that the only time any trash should be outside is on garbage day. When it’s not out, garbage should be stored inside of the house, a garage, shed or other structure.

“It doesn’t have to be a super crazy structure or anything, you just need to put it away,” Singleterry said. “Usually when they put their garbage away the bear stops coming back.”

Bird feeders, especially humming bird feeders, also attract bears into yards. Of course, right now the bears are hibernating for the winter, but with spring right around the corner, they’ll be waking up and be ready to eat.

“It’s very time consuming to trap a bear and takes away the rest of my day when I could be out doing enforcement and out educating and talking to people,” Singleterry said.

Singleterry said he also wants to remind people that it’s illegal to attract any game animals with feed.

“I’ve noticed a lot of people in Mineral County purposely feeding the deer,” he said. “They want to see them in their front yard, but that can spread disease back among the deer and the worst part is that it’s a public safety issue. It’ll bring the predators down and we don’t want a lion hanging around.”

Singleterry also said that he wants to remain approachable. He said that if you see him out and about feel free to ask him any questions you might have.

“I don’t want it to be like when you see a cop you won’t go up and talk to them because they’re a cop,” Singleterry said. “I’ve talked with seasoned hunters who have been hunting for 30 years and they had some really good questions, important questions. It’s the hunters and anglers responsibility to know what they need to be doing, and if you’re unsure about something, ask.”

Singleterry also said that if for some reason you do end up with a violation the best thing to do is to call him immediately.

“If you went out into the field and shot the wrong type of deer, don’t try to cover it up. Give me a call,” Singleterry said. “I can’t say you’re not going to get a ticket, but it’s so much better for people to let me know.”

Singleterry said that he had an incident where some good people got into a situation and tried to fix it themselves last season.

“It snowballed,” Singleterry said. “If they had given me a call, we could have sorted it out, but now people are calling TipMont and trying to turn you in. So be honest and give me a call so we can try and work it out.”

Singleterry said, though, that if people do see something that is wrong then they do need to call it in. He said that he hasn’t been getting a lot of poacher calls, and if people are seeing things they can call 1-800-TIP-MONT. Singleterry said that if anyone has any questions for him they can call the Region 2 office at 542-5500.