Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are lawabiding 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) reports that most people shifted from inland fishing to salmon fishing on Lake Superior. A few boats were encountered without the required safety equipment for Lake Superior fishing. Inland lakes were pretty quiet, but people were still catching a few walleyes.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) conducted checks of boaters and anglers returning from Canada; less than half the boats being transported had their plugs removed and two were found to be carrying significant amounts of water from Canadian lakes. Several anglers were also relieved of illegally possessed fish in exchange for appropriate paperwork. The officer also checked inland and Lake Superior anglers and boaters, handled a wolf depredation case and a report of someone using gasoline to burn out a wasp nest, and checked Lake Superior Water Trail kayak campsites. Visitors are reminded that camping is prohibited on MnDOT land, which includes many stretches of Lake Superior shoreline and that taking down the “No Camping” signs doesn’t make it legal.
Sgt. Keith Olson (Lake Superior Marine Unit) checked boaters and anglers along the North Shore. Catches of salmon are showing up in the Silver Bay area. Grand Marais is also producing salmon catches. The hot weather has many recreating in and around Lake Superior.
CO Dan Starr (Tower) responded to a call of a nuisance bear on Pine Island in Lake Vermilion, where the campers were forced to kill an aggressive male bear that had no fear of them. The campers attempted to chase the bear off several times, without success. Officers responded to a separate bear call, where a bear had been stuck by a vehicle on Highway 169 between Tower and Ely.
CO Nikki Shoutz (Pine River) assisted with a plane crash on the Upper Whitefish Lake which took the life of the pilot and injured the only passenger. She is also following up on a complaint that involved a jet ski running over a baby loon and injuring it. Another call was handled involving electric golf cart operation on the Paul Bunyan Trail, which is a non-motorized trail.
CO Steve Walter (Waconia) handled calls on a dead egret, goose crop damage and dead muskies dumped near Lake Minnetonka. Calls were investigated on illegal rip rap on the Crow River, cattails being cut and illegal burning.
CO Greg Abraham (New Ulm) took a report out of Renville County of a juvenile bald eagle that knocked the hard hat off the head of a construction worker and then would not leave, apparently attempting to make a meal of the hat.
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