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 trappers as the pine marten/fisher season came to a close. Some anglers are walking out onto the ice. One person drove a vehicle out on a lake that had just previously frozen over. The CO thought at first that he would see the tracks leading to an open hole, but he could tell the vehicle made it back off the ice.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking fisher and pine marten trappers in the area. Overall compliance is good for trappers setting traps in the lynx management zone. A few people are starting to venture onto early ice to try their luck for some fish. The officer assisted in teaching the law portion of the snowmobile safety class.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked fisher and pine marten trap sets and found good compliance overall. Lynx management regulations for the northeast continue to be an issue for some trappers. Manning answered questions from pet owners on how to remove dogs from traps; information on this in the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook is best reviewed before needed. The officer also assisted with snowmobile safety class, checked muzzleloader deer hunters and grouse hunters, and checked area lake and river accesses.
CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls) notes that the pine marten and fisher trappers were successful, however some better than others, by cheating the system. Enforcement action was taken for trapping in closed season, over limit, illegal transportation, failure to validate site tags, borrow and lend licenses, and untagged traps.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany) handled two calls of sick/dead snowy owls. The owls were donated to schools for educational purposes.
CO Mike Lee (Isle) found a large amount of deer carcasses being dumped in the middle of one of the landings on state land. While looking over the carcasses, Lee located a tag still affixed to one of the carcasses. While checking the information he also learned that the party had not registered any deer this season.
CO Tim Collette (Pequot Lakes) reports that one deer hunter who didn’t want to quit hunting after he had already filled his tag in a one-deer hunter’s choice area was found hunting without a valid license, over a baited area, using a muzzleloader with an illegal scope on it. The hunter then suggested that as long as he hadn’t killed a deer with the muzzleloader yet, that he be allowed to just buy a muzzleloader license and let it go at that. Instead, he ended up with large fines, losing his firearm, and will likely lose his hunting privileges for three years.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) assisted in an untagged trap and snare investigation where the suspect was caught on a hidden trail camera. Muzzleloader hunters are still out and were checked. One particular hunter shot and wounded a deer from the roadway and eventually gave up looking for it for the evening. The next day Frericks received the report of the incident and when the CO was in the brush following the blood trail the suspect vehicle drove past on the road. A short chase ensued with the hunter in the truck and the CO chasing him on foot. The hunter stopped for the CO. During the following interview the hunter admitted to shooting the deer from the roadway and trespassing. The deer was located and had to be destroyed. The deer and the hunter’s muzzleloader were seized.
Contact local DNR Conservation Officers to report violations or ask questions:
Thomas Wahlstrom
218-663-7183
Darin Fagerman
218-387-9751
Mary Manning
218-475-0121
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