by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Joe McBrine was hunting, fishing, and trapping before most people learn their state capitols, often racing off early before school to set traps along the Middle River, then checking them again at night. He was in the 5th grade when he first considered becoming a game warden, and it looks like he made the right decision. Last week the Maine Warden Service named McBrine the 2021 Maine Game Warden of the Year, honoring his commitment, skill, and 27-plus years of service protecting the people and wild places of Washington County. 

“One of the things that is unique about Joe is that he has just continued to be our go-to guy in the state, even after 27 years,” said Lieutenant Aaron Cross of the Maine Warden Service. “He’s very consistent, he’s got a really good attitude, he’s passionate about fish and game enforcement and protecting natural resources, but also about the safety of people.”

The Warden of the Year is a peer-nominated award given to a game warden who has consistently displayed exceptional expertise in the areas of conservation law enforcement, management, community and public relations, and all aspects of a warden’s duties.

“It is a huge accomplishment to be named Warden of the Year,” said Cross. “It’s our highest honor.” 

Honor, loyalty, compassion, and trust are the stated values of the Maine Warden Service, and for McBrine, building trust has been absolutely essential to his success. He knows his community, and his community knows him, a relationship made possible in part by the warden service’s unique structure.

“We’re assigned to a certain group of towns, and we’re the game warden for that town. It’s almost old-fashioned in that people know who their game warden is,” said McBrine. “My community is the eyes and ears for fish and wildlife conservation and for safety. Without them, I would barely scratch the surface of what takes place in Downeast Maine.”

Maine Game Wardens are conservation law enforcement professionals focused on hunting, trapping, fishing, recreational vehicle use, and search and rescue operations, among other duties. It’s a job that varies with the seasons, and even by the day — a warden might spend the morning responding to a nuisance skunk, and in the afternoon be called to a violent crime scene. As with all branches of law enforcement in Maine, whoever is closest is called first.

“All across rural Maine, that’s how it is. We really depend on each other,” said McBrine, who is respected by his peers as someone they can depend on without fail.

“Joe is extremely reliable, both with the people he works with and with the community,” said Sgt. Joshua Beal. “Joe can routinely be reached on his day on or day off and makes himself available to assist in any way he can.”

McBrine’s professional and personal investment in the local community is apparent in everything he does, from last fall organizing a memorial to Maine’s first two fallen game wardens, to arranging fishing trips for elderly veterans, to leading and inspiring the Revolutionary War Reenactors of Downeast Maine, a group dedicated to sharing the history of Machias’ role in the first naval battle of the American Revolution. 

“I was never really big on history when I went to school but since I started working with the reenactors, it has become addictive,” said McBrine, only half joking when he describes his own family tree. “Unfortunately, I just discovered that I’m related to a lieutenant for the British in the Revolutionary War. I have some patriots on the other side that will offset it.”

Looking to the future both of Machias and the warden service, McBrine has worked with the University of Maine at Machias to create a conservation law enforcement program, in an effort to train future wardens right here in Washington County. McBrine, who graduated from UMM, has taught classes on his own time, and assisted the school in establishing a Wildlife Forensics and DNA program.

McBrine and his wife Lori are parents to two children, and grandparents to two girls with a third on the way. Joe says Lori is a full partner in his commitment to the community, too, often handling calls when he is away from the house.

“She’s patient when trappers show up at the house with a bunch of fur to tag — on the kitchen table — or when I get called out in the middle of a birthday party,” said McBrine. “My wife never complains about the middle of the night phone calls and people stopping me to talk because she knows our community is a critical part of me being successful.”  

The McBrine’s daughter, Olivia Kalloch, said growing up with Joe was always going to mean a childhood immersed in nature, but growing with a game warden for a father came with some special experiences.

“There was never a shortage of adventure in my life, whether hiking through the Maine woods to peek in on sleeping black bears or rescuing stranded deer from icy rivers,” said Kalloch. “Even opening the deep freezer was an adventure in our house! You just never knew what you might find.”

McBrine says he is grateful for the trusted relationships that help him do his job well.  

“There’s not a day that goes by that someone isn’t calling me to offer to help,” said McBrine. “I just want to the community to know that I appreciate that. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”

A group of active duty and retired game wardens met last week to honor Joe McBrine of East Machias with the 2021 Warden of the Year award. McBrine is widely respected in the community, but is quick to point out the feeling is mutual. “My community is the eyes and ears for fish and wildlife conservation and for safety. Without them, I would barely scratch the surface of what takes place in Downeast Maine,” said McBrine. Photo courtesy Maine Warden Service