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) checked people fishing, bear hunting, ATVing, boating, kayaking and canoeing during the week. A commercial operator was found hauling water from an infested water body. Bear hunters are reporting mixed results and are not happy with the July-like temperatures they’ve had to deal with during the first week of the season. Many bear hunters are reporting wolves visiting their bear baits on a daily basis. Bear complaints are still coming in and they seem to be everywhere as the CO has seen more bears this year than ever before while driving around. Enforcement action was taken for transporting infested waters, and for fishing without fishing licenses.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked bear hunters and bear bait stations. Numerous hunters have opted not to register their bait stations this season; paperwork will be sent to many of these individuals. Nuisance bear calls continue to the officer and to DNR Wildlife. Based on a couple of these calls the officer would like to remind folks: young animals need to be left alone to return to the woods and should in no case be fed or offered human food or food waste. This guarantees they will be nuisance animals and increases the likelihood of the animals being euthanized for that reason.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking bear hunters, ATV riders and anglers. The officer worked a detail on Lake Superior with Officer Schottenbauer.
WREO Joe Stattelman investigated shots fired close to a public access. It was found that two neighbors had been shooting a bee hive out of a tree. As CO Stattelman explained the danger of where the pellets may fall due to the large number of people in the area and on the lake, two neighbors pulled up and informed the shooters that their wives and children had just been rained on by falling pellets on their deck and ran into the house for cover. At least three rounds of pellets hit their deck. The shooters quickly realized their mistake and apologized.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd) addressed a trespassing complaint and a gill net was seized from an individual who was using it to attempt to take fish. According to the violator, the net was made in Mexico where it was legal to use. He also said that it was a gift from his mother and was usually displayed as a decoration on the wall of his restaurant.
CO Jim Robinson (Slayton) discovered a freezer full of rotten raccoons that was dumped on Mariah WMA.
CO Tom Hemker (Winona) received a call of a rattlesnake in a resident’s yard.
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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