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) checked ATVs, boat and water safety equipment and anglers during the week. He reports a few anglers on Lake Superior, but fishing activity is down on the inland lakes.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent time checking state parks and anglers on area lakes. The walleye bite is slowing down while lakers are hitting on Superior with a few salmon in the bag as well. Enforcement action was taken for boating and angling violations.
CO John Velsvaag (Ely) took a complaint on a coyote biting a dog in a yard with the owner unable to scare it away by shooting in the air. The coyote was eventually killed.
CO Paul Nelson (Elbow Lake) investigated a number of nuisance animal calls including goose depredation, fox in a yard, and squirrels in a bird feeder.
CO Kevin Neitzke (Fort Snelling) responded to a call of a goose shot with an arrow.
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) checked fishing activity along an area of the St. Louis River with little activity observed — likely due to the extreme number of biting deer flies. A bear continues to be a nuisance at a campground by entering sites and emptying coolers.
CO Randy Hanzal (Duluth) reports a routine check of a person loading a canoe into a vehicle led to the discovery of an over limit of bass being kept in two large coolers of aerated water. The person later admitted he was planning on transplanting the fish to another body of water. The person was lectured about the possibility of spreading invasive species and issued tickets for the over-limit and other violations. Burning without a permit, burning prohibited material, unattended fire, no current registration, insufficient life-jackets, no fire extinguisher, no throwable life saving device and metal detecting within a state park were a few other violations encountered during the week.
CO Matt Loftness (Marshall) patrolled the Minnesota River this past weekend. The annual Catfish Days fishing event was hampered by high water conditions. Normally, at this time of year the river level would only be at three to four feet. This year it ranged from 10 feet to over 30 feet in some areas. Only a few anglers ventured out in boats and shore anglers could not get to their favorite spots.
Leave a Reply