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) worked with COs from Minnesota and Ontario on a border lake detail. One day the COs observed a pack of 15 wolves on Gunflint Lake leaving the area of a fresh deer kill. None of the four COs there had ever seen a wolf pack that big. Enforcement action was taken for live minnows and extra lines on a designated trout lake, extra lines and snowmobile registration violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled area lakes and snowmobile trails. Manning investigated a complaint of snowmobiles operating inside the BWCAW and checked cross country ski passes at Pincushion ski area.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking anglers and snowmobilers. The officer appeared in court regarding past big game cases. Wahlstrom was involved in a work detail in the Alexandria area. Enforcement action was taken for extra lines, unattended lines, drug paraphernalia, ATV and snowmobile violations.
CO David Schottenbauer (Silver Bay) worked area angling activity. Time was also spent checking trails. The trails are starting to show wear due to the lack of fresh snow.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports working a case of wanton waste and dumping of nearly 20 ducks, some in various stages of being processed. All of them appeared to be goldeneyes, most likely taken at the end of the waterfowl season.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) observed a dog eating on a freshly killed deer on an area lake. After examining the scene, it was obvious the deer was killed by wolves. The dog was taking a chance by having lunch courtesy of the wolves, as it too could have been wolf lunch.
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) responded to a complaint of an owner’s house dog that came home with a snare around its neck. It was determined the neighbors had snares out attempting to catch fox that were eating the chickens. Fredin also spent time searching for a cow and calf moose that were reported walking around Highway 135 and the calf appeared sick, stumbling and falling over.
CO Scott Staples (Carlton), while checking anglers on area lakes, found one who was fishing with an extra line. He stated that another person had just left and forgot to reel up his line. The person he named happened to be a police officer for a local city and a quick check found that this officer was currently working and there was no way he was fishing. After being cited for angling with an extra line, the man apologized for lying.
CO Tim Collette (Pequot Lakes) cautions that with no snow on the ice in most areas, drivers on the ice need to slow down as one driver found out the hard way. When the driver spotted open water ahead, an attempt to stop the vehicle failed and the driver bailed out before it went in, but was swept into the open hole after the vehicle anyway. Thankfully the water was only waist-deep and he was able to get back onto the ice, wet and cold but uninjured. A good Samaritan who witnessed the whole thing immediately put the driver in his vehicle to warm up and called for help.
Contact local DNR Conservation Officers to report violations or ask questions:
Thomas
Wahlstrom
218-370-0244
Darin
Fagerman
218-387-9751
Mary
Manning
218-475-0121
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