Johnson Ben

Johnson Ben is a senior outdoor writer, certified hunting guide, and former USDA Forest Service wildlife technician with more than two decades of field experience across North America. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and earned certification as a Hunter Education Instructor through the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA). Licensed as a professional hunting guide in Montana and Wyoming, Johnson has led more than 300 big game hunts on public and private land across the Rocky Mountain West.

His writing on hunting regulations, fishing licensing, and public land access has appeared in Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Western Hunter magazine. He is the author of the independently published reference guide "Navigating State Hunting Regulations" (2019 edition) and serves as a technical advisor to several state wildlife agency public outreach programs.

Johnson discovered hunting and fishing through his grandfather at age seven in rural Wyoming. After earning his degree from the University of Montana in 2002, he spent eight years as a wildlife technician with the USDA Forest Service, conducting ungulate population surveys, fisheries assessments, and aquatic invasive species monitoring across Region 1 and Region 4 national forests. That agency experience gave him an operational understanding of state and federal wildlife regulations that informs every piece he writes.

Based in Bozeman, Montana, Johnson hunts elk, mule deer, and pronghorn each season and fly fishes the Madison, Gallatin, and Big Hole rivers throughout the year. He holds a Type A Montana resident combination license and purchases his federal duck stamp annually. When not in the field, he tests hunting optics, reviews state regulation booklets, and answers licensing questions submitted by readers of this site.