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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) checked area black powder hunters. The officer assisted teaching the snowmobile safety class at the Cook County school. Anglers are eager to get out fishing and are reporting various ice thickness. Caution should be used when venturing out on early ice.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports that many of the shallow, smaller lakes have eight inches of good ice on them. With the snowmobile trails open, all other motorized vehicles must now stay off of designated snowmobile trails. Wolf hunters, trappers and anglers were checked. The early season walleye fishing hasn’t started off as well as it did last year. Fishing is reported to be very slow so far. The stream trout (lakes) and lake trout season within the BWCA opens Dec. 29. Lakes outside the BWCA or partially outside the BWCA open Jan. 12.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) continued to check wolf trappers and answer questions about the wolf hunt and sick wolves. One trapper’s snare was set close to a roadway and garnered attention from passersby. Manning assisted CO Wahlstrom and volunteer instructors with the classroom portion of snowmobile safety class; snow arrived too late to permit field testing of students. Manning also checked trails and hunter activity in Magney State Park.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) received a call regarding a dead swan and responded to a call of an injured owl. Upon arrival at the injured owl call, the officer observed the owl hopping away. As the complainant and Plautz closed in on the owl to capture the critter, it dropped the rabbit it was chewing on and flew away.
CO Tony Musatov (Sauk Rapids) assisted a homeowner with a deer stuck in the thin ice on the Mississippi River. After a long rest the buck walked away (opposite the river).
CO Ed Picht (Montevideo) reports that a major winter storm hit the area on Saturday night through Sunday. The City of Maynard opened up its city hall for a storm shelter when about 20 people were transported there after their vehicles were stuck on Highway 23. Most people who were rescued did not have a survival kit that would have gotten them through the night.
Leave a Reply