For the first time in more than a year, Libby is the home of a game warden.

Tamie Laverdure, a 42-year-old recent University of Montana – Western graduate, will spend hunting season in the area before heading to the Police Academy in January.

A native of Cody, Wyo., Laverdure is an avid bow- and rifle-hunter and angler and brings her three dogs and four horses to the area.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl,” she said. 

Libby is her first station after graduating with honors in Dillon. Libby’s last game warden for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks transferred to Havre, leaving a vacancy.

Phil Kilbreath, Troy’s warden, had been stepping up and helping out with Libby, but Laverdure will take some of the weight off his shoulders.

Laverdure was raised on a ranch and has worked in construction and last worked in an open-pit gold mine in Jefferson City, which she believes will help her with the tough job in Libby.

A game warden investigates poaching cases, overhunting limits, hunting without permits and landowner issues.

When not being a warden, Laverdure spends time packing horses, playing with her dogs (a blue heeler and two miniature dachshunds) and riding her Harley, a Super Glide Custom.