Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks swore in a new game warden to cover the Seeley Lake area in January 2024.
Garrett Kocab of Helena started the lengthy hiring process while completing two degrees at Carroll College. Graduating in May 2023 with Environmental Policy/Project Management and Sociology degrees and hired in January 2024, Kocab then had three months of law enforcement training in Helena before coming on the job in Seeley Lake in May.
"Although I used to come up here hunting while going to Carroll, getting to know the Seeley area better with this job has been fun," Kocab said.
Kocab grew up in the high desert of Southern California, enjoying a rural lifestyle with livestock, hunting and fishing nearby.
"Where we lived in the high desert was fine," Kocab said. "When the chance came to go to Carroll College in Helena I was glad to come to Montana."
With extended family in Billings, Kocab chose to attend Carroll College in Helena with an eye towards joining the game warden forces in Montana. At Carrol,l Kocab played football and at one point was visiting with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a possible NFL run. Kocab received an All- American title in discus and competed in shot put at Carroll. In Seeley Lake, Kocab assists with the football program at Seeley-Swan High School.
"My dad was a police officer and I always thought I'd be in some branch of law enforcement work," Kocab said. "I enjoy hunting, fishing and the outdoors so I went in the game warden direction."
Kocab said that he didn't really know what to expect in the new job. Every day brings something new and he enjoys learning from the other game wardens in Region 2. The job can take him to the water, the mountains and anywhere in between on a typical day.
The general plan for his day is to pick a site in his district - which goes from the Lolo to the Flathead National Forest border north of Rainy Lake, east to Ovando, west to the Roundup Fishing access and south nearly to Garnet. Kocab will patrol the area, chat with anyone that's around, check licenses if applicable and make sure everything is going smoothly for people. There's a good chance that a call will come in where he has to go help someone and that will take care of his day.
Kocab chooses his direction to patrol depending on the season. Right now people are out camping. Kocab said that food storage is a big thing and he does a lot of education to help people store their food properly.
"My job is enforcement and education," Kocab said. "We want to help people be safe while protecting the resources."
So far Kocab has helped at Bear Aware Days at Seeley Lake Elementary and at local hunter education courses.
Kocab and Ali Williams, who works at Seeley Lake Elementary School, recently married and will be living in Seeley Lake. Kocab is available to answer questions at 406-210-1299.
Reader Comments(0)