Our enforcement division provides a friendly face in the field to educate outdoors enthusaists of all age and they work hard to protect the resources that make Montana the Last Best Place.
A confidential assessment critical of the Enforcement Division鈥檚 leadership at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks coincided with the chief and assistant chief being removed from office in early March.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park game wardens chat with a shed hunter in 2019聽 after reports of an early trespasser on to the wildlife management area. The man pictured is not one of the violators.
Wesley Sarmento, prairie bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, left, along with other FWP biologist and game wardens work up a pair of trapped adolescent grizzly bears in July 2023.
There are common themes Bryan Lockerby sees when he鈥檚 called in to assess a government agency such as聽funding ebbing and flowing, elected officials with different priorities and leadership changes following elections.
The former Great Falls police officer now runs a that was hired by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Christy Clark to look into the agency鈥檚 Enforcement Division.
Amidst continual turmoil, Lockerby said communication between leaders and field officers can be an issue, as is consistency, trust and fairness.
鈥淵ou know, in crisis management we always say the first thing to break down is communication,鈥 he said, not just for public safety but any organization.
Although resolving organizational problems by changing leadership, a policy or adding training can be a solution to problems, Lockerby said those are often short-term and don鈥檛 address building a sustainable system.
鈥淚 call it kind of like the North Star, that if you're lost in the mountains the first thing you do is orient,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou look for the North Star so you have some direction where you're going.鈥
That way, when there鈥檚 a failure the organization can still thrive.
鈥淚 think the one thing that agencies, any organization, struggles with is change,鈥 Lockerby said. 鈥淭hey have difficulty adapting to change. And the reality is, change is constant.鈥
Budgets will always shrink, turnover of personnel is constant, so flexibility is important.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park game wardens chat with a shed hunter in 2019聽 after reports of an early trespasser on to the wildlife management area. The man pictured is not one of the violators.
Wesley Sarmento, prairie bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, left, along with other FWP biologist and game wardens work up a pair of trapped adolescent grizzly bears in July 2023.
