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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the last week checking deer hunters and trapping activity. Multiple hunting over baited areas were investigated with enforcement action being taken. The harvest is down compared to last year with many hunters complaining. The officer worked an ongoing investigation with the U.S. Forest Service. Enforcement action was taken for hunting over bait, shooting from the roadway and transport illegally taken big game animal.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) checked deer hunters during the week. Many people were road “hunting” with uncased guns, open actions, and rounds sticking in the heater vents ready for shooting deer from the roadway. Many people aren’t out enjoying what deer hunting is supposed to be about, getting out in the woods and enjoying the day. When checking one road hunting duo, the passenger had the muzzle of his gun nestled up against the rib cage of the driver. When asking the driver how he felt about his partner’s gun sticking in his side, the driver shrugged his shoulders and stated it was no big deal because it was unloaded. The CO asked the passenger to point the gun in a safe direction because he didn’t want to be a witness to what could happen.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters and took another report of hunting deer over bait. Deer are moving around more than the previous week and the officer also took a report of a deer chasing a dog in the pet owner’s yard. Manning followed up on previous baiting and deer hunter complaints.
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) gave assistance searching for a lost hunter in the Lost River State Forest north of Salol.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) worked a case where a father and son were found hunting together on a 20-acre tract of land. A problem arose when it was discovered that two large feeders holding cracked corn were sitting in between them. Firearms were seized and citations were issued.
CO Jeff Halverson (Staples) fielded numerous calls during the season including an 11:30 p.m. call the night before the opener from a man wanting the officer to complete the field day portion of the online firearms safety course so they could purchase their license and hunt the next day. Another two hunters asked if they could place an “Antlerless” tag on an “Antlered” buck.
CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) received a call to assist a hunter with retrieving a deer he had shot that had run onto private property. The deer ended up being a nice nine-point buck except when Kuske checked the hunter’s registration records it was found he had already registered a buck during archery season. Kuske asked the hunter if he had gotten a buck during archery season and the hunter said, “Oh, I forgot about that one.” The deer was seized and citation issued for deer over limit.
Kuske also checked one allmale hunting camp that started a rule a few years ago that anyone who shoots a fawn has to wear “the dress.” A few of the hunters admitted to having to wear it but that the rule has really reduced the number of fawns that the group now shoots.
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