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) reports that Cook County kids are pretty tough, as they braved the -32 wind chill on Saturday morning to do their field testing for snowmobile safety. They were too excited to worry about a little cold. A few parents commented, but no one complained and a good time was had by all. As the snowmobile and ski clubs kick off their seasons, please consider joining a local club or a club where you ride or ski. Support your sport; it all helps.
The wind has helped blow some of the snow off the lakes. Some of the slush has already come to the surface and has frozen down. The slush isn’t as bad as is being reported, but it is subject to change as people drill more angling holes. The CO also assisted DNR Wildlife, tagging pine marten, fisher, otter and bobcat.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) assisted with snowmobile safety class after several snow days at the local school. Manning checked marten and fisher traps and assisted with fur registration. The officer also attended training for Range Safety Officers at Camp Ripley.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked the remaining fisher/pine marten trapping season and checked muzzleloader hunters. The officer helped instruct students in Grand Marais with the snowmobile safety class. The students had a cold ride while they were completing the skill course. Wahlstrom worked the fur registration in Finland where numbers appeared to be down.
CO Larry Francis (Remer) received a call from a wheelchair-bound party whose dog hadn’t come home and he felt it was caught in a trap. Francis was able to locate the dog, less than 500 feet from the house, caught in a foot hold trap. He released the dog and it returned home; the dog’s long term prognosis is unknown. Trappers are asked to use good judgment when deciding where to set traps – it may be legal, but it might be a bad idea.
CO Mike Martin (St. Cloud) found two young archery hunters in a local WMA without any blaze orange on. There was a muzzleloader hunter sitting less than 100 yards from them. The two hunters claimed they didn’t know that they were required to wear blaze orange during the open muzzleloader firearms season. The two hunters had also walked on legally posted agricultural land to gain access to the WMA. One of the hunters said he thought it would be OK since “we probably know who owns it anyway.”
CO Thephong Le (Enforcement Liaison Community Officer Program) went to Lake Riley to rescue an “injured swan” but the mission was aborted because the swan kept flying away and the temperature was below zero.
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