Finding Greener Pastures: Woody Baxter Moves On

He's probably more than just a local legend, more than likely he's part of many stories that are shared around the globe. A straight forward personality and a witty sense of humor could keep you on your toes with one local man. Many outdoor enthusiasts in the area may have met this individual and probably sigh with envy when it comes to some of his true tall tales.

Woody Baxter, our local Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional state park and fishing access site manager in Glasgow, is setting out his sails into retirement as February comes to a close. His coworker Steve Dalbey, region 6 fisheries program manager, said that Baxter is pretty well known throughout the state.

"He's legendary in the state parks program," Dalbey said. "He's worked around the state but he's famous for building relationships."

Dalbey said that Baxter alone is responsible for the development of Brush Lake State Park, near Dagmar. It was Baxter that helped find, develop and create the state park, something Dalbey added took a lot of community support. While Dalbey said it wasn't a surprise that Baxter was headed for retirement, he had a countdown clock, he said that he would be greatly missed.

The people in Glasgow will know Baxter for his parties, in particular the Super Bowl parties and his famous canoe filled with cold brews. Dalbey and others have commented that he's a masterful chef and when he cooks, he doesn't ever disappoint. Baxter is also known for his candy bowl in the office, he calculates he's gone through thousands of dollars supplying the sugar habits of coworkers and visitors in Glasgow since 2001.

"You don't fill those shoes, you just don't," Dalbey said.

Dalbey joked that his most famous story in the department is a trip down almost every river in the state, and Baxter might say those trips were clothing optional. Baxter confirmed that he floated 26 miles down the Smith River in the nude. According to Baxter the conditions were right, the sun was out, there weren't a lot of tourists and he thought, why not. This was during his time as a river ranger on the Smith River for Montana FWP between 1986-89.

He started his career in 1975 for Montana Fish and Game and worked in the game check stations in the Bitterroot Mountains. During that time he volunteered for the Grizzly Bear Research Team for the University of Montana-Missoula and worked at Mckinley (Denali) National Park. He remembers driving tourists around the area, noting that the Germans would take off into the wilderness and it would take time to gather them back up and that the Japanese tourists were often frightened by the idea of bears and wouldn't get off the bus. He said he saw grizzly bears everyday of the week.

He took a break from Montana and headed to the Florida Everglades National Park. He said that the area was pretty interesting and a memorable moment there was when a married couple came out on the boat and the boat tipped over. As the man struggled to get back in, fearful of alligators, his wife asked him first, "give me your wallet."

In Alaska, Baxter recalled his dog digging up a body of a missing person along the Yukon River. He explained that the rugged terrain was full of wildlife and one while floating in a very narrow part of the river, they came upon a bear that was eating a carcass. The bear could have easily made his way to him, but the bear was watching two wolves that were in the waiting to take any remains they could of the carcass.

After some time as the Blackfoot River Manger along Seeley Lake, Baxter found himself here in Glasgow. He remembered getting to Glasgow early February in 2001. He said that his time here in Montana was memorable. He remembered interviewing for the job here in December 2000. He said it was so cold and miserable. He drove by the Crossing and saw a Grizzly mascot in the window and had to stop. He kind of knew he might fit in at that moment. Baxter said that he spent many Saturdays down there watching the game, which was a bonus. He kept the tags on a jacket he bought for the position and sometime during the interview intentionally cut the tags off of the jacket. He said that he received a call while he was traveling on towards North Dakota to visit when he got the phone call that he got the job.

"I was the first full time regional state park manager in this region," Baxter said.

He explained that the interest was there and a representative pushed the idea that there needed to be a state park in Region 6, the only region to not have a state park. Baxter said that the area was picked after a lot of consideration. There were 26 different areas listed, that list was whittled down to 13, and then four went on to be nominated. He said that the fishing access sites in the area had also been worn over the years and were in pretty poor condition. Workers from Miles City or Great Falls would travel the distance every so often to maintain, but it was hard to keep bathrooms clean and stocked with no one local.

"We wanted to provide more access around the Missouri River and the dam and around the North Dakota area," Baxter said.

He also helped assist to bring the Home Run Pond in Glasgow. Something he said that was a group effort by the city of Glasgow and other organizations and individuals who helped create it.

"There's not a lot of thank you's in my job, but seeing that 9-year-old kid fishing on the pond is the thank you for me," Baxter said.

Baxter said that the sad part of his career was here in Glasgow. In 2010, the Regional Parks Program was shut down. He said it really took away from the folks living on the Hi-Line. That it leaves no representation for this part of the state and that representation helps create local relationships.

"As a professional, it's what bothers me the most," Baxter said.

He said that political pressures really make a difference and that sometimes the squeaky wheels get more attention. With a bigger population in other regions, sometimes getting that representation is difficult. He was thankful that he was able to maintain a position in Glasgow. He ended up focusing on the fishing access sites in the end.

As his days working for FWP have come to an end, his adventures have not. Over the years he's traveled to the Arctic Circle, he's visited Iceland and other remote areas. He said that while the wilderness is always wonderful, it's the cultures and the people you meet along the way that make his expeditions memorable. He plans to travel and wants to visit Mongolia. He said that he may move away, but not immediately. He's still just trying to see where his path might lead him next.

"I will leave eventually, but I will miss so much of the open space and the short grocery lines," Baxter said.