Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few that 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) did his part in feeding the bumper crop of mosquitoes and black flies — some of the fiercest seen in recent years. People took refuge in campers and out in the gusting winds on lakes. Many campers headed for home early Sunday morning because the fun meter was not very high due to the bugs. The CO attended a class on aquatic invasive species and spoke with several people on the new laws. Type four throwable devices and navigation lights were the violations of the week.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) attended training on new Aquatic Invasive Species law changes. Officer Manning also took care of paperwork and equipment maintenance. Visitors to Cook County are reminded to slow down on state forest roads and watch for moose cows and calves.
CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors) worked several areas of high ATV use throughout the week. A complaint was received of two wolves that were found on county land. The animals were badly decomposed and looked as though they had been dumped in the area.
CO Brad Schultz (Cook) gave assistance to a homeowner who had problems with a raccoon. It seems her grandkids had set a live trap in an attempt to capture a problem squirrel. The grandkids went home but left the live trap out. Grandma got up in the morning and found a very upset coon in the trap and she had no idea how to deal with it; it was dealt with.
Conservation Officer Nikki Shoutz (Pine River) handled a litter call involving household garbage that was dumped. Among the items was an Arctic Cat snowmobile hood with the registration number still on it.
CO Dan McBroom (Rochester) reports that he stopped a small boat that appeared to be very overloaded. The small boat contained eight adults and was riding very low in the water. The boat also only had one wearable PFD. The boat was escorted back into the landing and enforcement action was taken.
CO Neil Henriksen (Benson) reports that several concerned citizen called about dogs running loose on wild lands or that a dog had caught a new born fawn. Dogs killing or endangering deer can currently be dispatched by citizens or officers.
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