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 as the old saying goes, “Some people will do almost anything for a buck.” One minute a hunter is admiring his prized trophy buck, thinking about entering it in a big buck contest with visions of cash and prizes. The next minute he sees his unlawfully taken animal and his rifle leaving with the local CO and sheriff’s deputy. All he is left with is one of those parting gifts from the CO that you just don’t want. Enforcement action was taken for unlawfully taken deer, lend/borrow hunting tags, no hunter orange, failing to validate tags and driving an ATV around a barricade into closed area.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) continued to work the cold and blustery firearms deer season. Many hunters have opted to troll the back roads looking for the deer of opportunity rather than find one the oldfashioned way. The officer followed up on baiting cases from past seasons and handled a nuisance bear complaint. Manning also patrolled areas ripe for illegal, late night deer shining.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking deer hunters. Deer harvest success has been very low along the North Shore. The officer assisted the State Patrol with a semi-truck that veered off the highway into the woods taking out several large trees along the way. Enforcement action was taken for big game and traffic violations.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) assisted with locating a lone female driving in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the leg. First aid was rendered while waiting for medics.
CO Bill Landmark (Moorhead) reported an incident where several vehicles were chasing deer around a section. When confronted by the officer they asked how they were supposed to follow the deer to see where they go if they couldn’t use their vehicles to follow them.
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) received a complaint from hunters at their cabin that when they left for a short time someone drove into the yard and stole a sevenpoint buck from the meat pole.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) was called when a hunter lost his deer to wolves within a mile of town when he was unable to locate it after dark. A call of a deer through the ice was also received. The deer went down before the officer arrived.
CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) reported a hunter picking up a carkilled deer, but instead of calling for a free possession tag he used his wife’s deer tag, who doesn’t hunt and wasn’t with him.
Kuske was called to a violation of a hunter trespassing and shooting within 500 feet of a house. The hunter with his father and son, were found dragging the deer out of the woods. Further investigation found that the grandfather and father had the youth shoot a deer earlier that day from the road in front of a residence within 500 feet. Unfortunately this was how the youth was mentored on getting his very first deer.
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