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) found more baited stands that had been abandoned for the season. He will visit these sites on opening day next year. Hopefully some people will change their mind and not bait next year. He investigated a place where a deer was shot from the roadway. The CO saw a very large buck on a Forest Service road on the Gunflint Trail. Beyond the buck was a man walking his dog without wearing orange. He was very hard to see. It is a good reminder that anyone in the woods during deer season should wear orange. CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking deer hunters in Cook and Lake counties. The officer continued to follow up on complaints during the season. Enforcement action was taken for various big game violations. CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters and hunting stands. One landowner’s generosity was repaid by a hunter cutting shooting lanes on the property; the hunter has since been relocated. The officer also took calls about hunting over bait, hunting regulations and disability permits. CO Paul Parthun (Lake George), while checking one hunter with a tagged deer, observed the tag was from 2010. The hunter had mistakenly placed last year’s tag on this year’s deer. CO Troy Richards (Fergus Falls) responded to a call last Monday where two hunters were found in portable stands hunting deer. The hunters were under the belief that the season closed on Tuesday. Their season ended after the CO had contact with them. CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) received a call on the last day of firearm hunting season regarding a deer shot from the roadway into agriculture land. The suspect, believing and knowing he was going to get caught, stopped by at the CO’s residence and left his business card with his wife. He was charged along with restitution for the deer. CO Todd Langevin (Center City) reports receiving several calls of dumped deer carcasses in the area. One carcass was not even dumped in the ditch but thrown in the middle of the road. Another dumping pile was not deer but a pile of raccoon, muskrat and beaver carcasses. Hunters and trappers are reminded to properly dispose of carcasses. CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) was advised of a doe that attacked a woman walking her dog. The dog ran away and left the woman. She was forced to use defensive tactics to ward off the doe. The woman is okay. She said next year she is going to buy a deer license.
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