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 Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled lakes and checked anglers. Manning also patrolled GIA snowmobile trails and forest roads. Extreme cold temperatures made for light traffic on the trails and vehicle issues for many. Travelers are reminded to prepare their vehicles with emergency supplies and talk to a local person before venturing onto forest roads as logging activity changes and roads plowed last year may not be plowed this year.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) checked anglers on area lakes and a few sleds out on the trails. Trails still could use more snow. The officer spent time at Camp Ripley armoring the division’s shotguns.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports wolves are still grabbing suet balls off of bird feeders. One wolf ate about a gallon of sunflower seeds out of a bucket under a bird feeder. COs ask people not to feed birds in the summer so as not to attract bears. Attracting wolves hasn’t been an issue until lately. If you feed with suet balls, hang them high.
CO Duke Broughten (Longville) was checking anglers on Lake Winnie when he encountered three individuals fishing with seven lines inside a fish house. One of the anglers disagreed with the enforcement action taken, saying since a person can only have two lines the line in question was an extra one and didn’t really belong to anyone.
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) received a complaint of a “sickly wolf” hanging around a residence, and footprints in the snow clearly showed the wolf walked into the garage and within 5 feet of the residence main door.
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) checked out a complaint of a van left on an area lake for weeks. Turns out the van was completely gutted out and made into a fish house. There was no violation.
CO Chris Tetrault (Isle) checked on anglers on Mille Lacs Lake who were found with two extra lines. One angler proceeded to tell the officer that his son ran to town to pick something up. When the officer inquired as to how long his son had been gone and when he would come back the angler said shortly. The officer asked for his son’s phone number to verify; however, the father didn’t know his son’s phone number. The officer then said, “Your son isn’t out here is he?” To which the angler replied, “No. I’m not good at this.”
Leave a Reply