Montana is known for its majestic mountains, swift-running creeks and wide-open spaces. It’s a place of dreams and adventure — and over the past decade, a destination for those seeking to leave city life behind and embrace small-town living. That influx of new residents has brought growing pains to communities across Montana, and Sanders County is no exception.

The 2020 census recorded Sanders County’s population at 12,400, reflecting nearly 9% growth since 2010. Current estimates show the county approaching 16,000 residents. This rapid increase has placed substantial pressure on county and municipal governments. More construction requires more roads and expanded infrastructure, leading to higher costs and increased demands for public services.

One of the areas feeling this strain most acute is emergency services, particularly the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, which has seen its call volume nearly double over the past five years. The agency currently employs 13 officers, with 10 deputies assigned to patrol an area covering 2,761 square miles.

With county budgets stretched thin, the Sheriff's Office full-time lieutenant position was defunded earlier this year. Staffing shortages now mean that 30% to 40% of the time only one deputy is on duty during overnight shifts, who is responsible for responding to calls across the entire county. That deputy may be required to drive from one corner of the county to another, logging hundreds of miles in a single night. During these periods, 911 calls are prioritized by urgency.

“It seems like every call is for the other end of the county,” Sheriff Shawn Fielders said. “We just don’t have enough people. We have to do triage on the calls and prioritize what comes in.”

Fielders also noted a heightened federal focus on identifying immigrants in the country illegally. 

“There are some businesses around here that continue to employ them,” Fielders continued. “It’s nothing like the border towns.” 

This year, Thompson Falls Police detained four people suspected of being in the country without permission, and roughly six individuals were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol. 

“It’s hard to tell if they have a record. You never know if you’re getting the right name or not. Quite often they have fake IDs, so you never know who you’ve got,” Fielders continued. “We have a great relationship with Border Patrol.”

To support local agencies, the county participates in Operation Stonegarden, a federal grant program administered by FEMA that provides funding for overtime, equipment, training and technology to counter cross-border threats. 

“With the Stonegarden grant, at least deputies can come out on overtime, patrol and start getting statistics on who’s moving through our county,” Fielders explained. “It’s a pipeline. It comes from Washington, through Idaho, off the freeway at St. Regis, and over to the reservation. Highway 200 and 28 are major pipelines.”

Fielders emphasized that the intent of the program is not to issue excessive citations. 

“Ninety-five percent of the stops made on Operation Stonegarden, we’ll just tell them what the violation is," he said. "It’s for traffic control and identifying drug mules coming through.”

As for his goals, Fielders outlined several priorities. 

“I have been trying to get a new Sheriff’s Office," he said. "We are working to get our deputies new equipment and have been doing a lot of new training.” 

He noted that Detective April Phillips, who specializes in sexual assault cases, has completed extensive advanced training. 

“It’s paid off — we’ve had some major cases prosecuted.” 

The department has also improved its domestic violence training and street-level drug identification efforts. 

“We do have a narcotics problem in this county,” Fielders said.

“I want folks to know that we are doing everything we can to give them better law enforcement,” he added. “I came out of retirement because I thought we needed to enhance what we’re doing. My goal is to build a larger Sheriff’s Office. Downsizing is not the right direction — not with the population growing and calls for service increasing. We have to have more deputies."