Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few who run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all to be safe and to follow the rules!
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) encountered a mother timber wolf with six pups one morning. Of course by the time the CO scrambled for his camera the pups scattered into the woods, however mom didn’t like the COs presence and made a circle around his truck. The CO also saw many grouse chicks during the week. Some looked like baseballs with legs and some already had their feathers and are flying for a short distance. He assisted the US Forest Service with a wildfire and handled several bear (actually people) problem calls. Thewoods are getting very dry. Watch those fires.
CO Tom Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent time at Camp Ripley armoring shot guns for the division. Theofficerattended training at the Hermantown Police Department and worked with Officer Fairbanks in the Deer River area checking anglers. CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors) spent a good deal of time working Lake Superior. Fishing on the big lake has been very slow overall, although several anglers have been able to pull limits of lake trout from their “secret spots.” Thomasen is working with DNR Forestry to remove a large number of watercraft, which have been illegally stashed on state property for many years near a remote lake. ATV activity is starting to pick up, possibly due to poor angling as of late.
A non-resident angler who was angling without an angling license, decided to give CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) a false name and address from Las Vegas, Nevada. The officer ran the information and it came back negative. Theindividual insisted that the information was correct, but eventually realized that his deception was not going to fly and finally provided his real name. Results of the second go around were successful and his identity was verified. His correct address was just another state away, in San Francisco, California. Using a fictitious name and Las Vegas address was a bad gamble, as he was cited for angling without an angling license and giving a peace officer a false name. CO Randy Hanzal (Duluth) reports that while working boat and water safety with an 1854 Treaty officer, the two officers avoided a direct crash with another boater by a mere 15 feet by a last second evasive move. The inattentive boater said he didn’t see the officers’ boat due to a seat in his way and because of the distraction by two young screaming boys that were attempting to warn him.
CO Mike Martin (St. Cloud) watched several anglers fishing for 15-20 minutes before checking them along a local river. Martin approached them and asked for their fishing licenses. One of the anglers said his license was in the car, so he and Martin walked to the car to get it. The angler took a license out of the glove compartment and gave it to the officer. The problem was the angler took the license out of his buddy’s wallet (the friend was sleeping in the car) and gave it to Martin. The angler produced his driver’s license from a different wallet, when asked for another form of ID. The angler was cited for lend, borrow, or transfer license and angling without a license. He is looking at a suspension of his angling privilege, if convicted of both offenses. Officer Martin investigated a report of a cougar or bobcat being trapped (it was neither) and spoke with some kids about taking eggs from the nests of songbirds.
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