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 assistance was given to a watercraft that was taking on water. It was determined that the trailer bracket had worked its way through the hull during transport, causing a sizeable slash. The boat was brought back in to shore and with a little bush ingenuity, along with marine caulking, they were soon back out on the water. Later that evening their motor died and luckily the caulking still held. The CO dealt with an abandoned camper and boat during the week. He also donated some blood to the local black fly colony.
CO Marty Stage (Ely) encountered a group in the BWCAW that had capsized their canoes right after leaving the landing. The officer observed that they each had fishing poles along and asked if they had gotten their fishing licenses. They said they had not, but that if the fish just happened to end up in their boat… The whole group then laughed for a while. The officer waited for the laughter to die down, then identified himself as a game warden and explained the high cost of fines, how to purchase licenses over the phone, and discussed all the other BWCAW rules that they had not felt necessary to be aware of before heading into the BWCA wilderness for their first time.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) dealt with a number of animal complaints including nuisance bears, a Facebook posting of people “holding a deer fawn hostage,” and a report of an injured bear being followed around by a number of kids in the city of Soudan. The officer also watched an angler dispose of his Styrofoam crawler container, a shopping bag and a five-gallon bucket into a lake from a fishing pier (the pier had two garbage cans 10 feet and 30 feet away). The angler/litter bug first denied the deed, but eventually admitted to his poor judgment.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) responded to a call from DNR Fisheries about a gill net that had been stolen from Little Sand Lake in Britt. The lake had not been surveyed for almost 30 years because it does not have a public access. After speaking with numerous lakeshore owners it was discovered that one of the cabin owners thought a private person had placed the net, removed it and only then learned it belonged to DNR Fisheries. The cabin owner balled up the 250-footlong net and threw it back in the lake because she didn’t know what else to do. The net was later recovered and the fisheries crew has a big job of untangling the net in front of them.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) had a couple complaints from farmers involving cows and their calves being harassed by wolves. In a couple instances, wolves were able to attack and drag away week-old calves from the cows. Trappers were brought in to some farms in an attempt to limit livestock losses by removing wolves from the area. There were also complaints from concerned homeowners regarding wolves hanging around their residence.
CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) handled a call of someone who had a fawn on his doorstep. It seemed as if the lamb they had in a pen nearby had called the fawn in. The fawn was relocated back to nearby woods where the doe would find it.
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