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) helped out at Camp Ripley with firearms qualifications for enforcement officers and teaching arrest and control tactics to new Conservation Officer candidates. The officer checked bear bait stations and continued to answer calls about nuisance bears. The officer also taught a class on fall outdoor survival for the “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” weekend workshop on the Gunflint Trail.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) checked bear hunters and anglers in the BWCA during the week. Patrols were done in the motor areas and by canoe. Bears continue to be a problem with some bears entering or attempting to enter occupied homes and cabins. Another person decided to dump a large amount of household garbage onto public lands. They cut addresses out of all of their dumped mail except one piece. Other clues also led the CO to the culprit. Garbage dumpers, for the most part, are easy to catch. The fines are high and so are the clean-up costs. Then you get your name in the local paper and people don’t like people who dump trash onto public lands.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked bear hunters and checked outfitters. The officer handled multiple nuisance animal calls. Time was spent checking anglers on Lake Superior and inland lakes.
CO Angie Warren (Detroit Lakes) received complaints of a neighbor using poison to kill animals and a deer taking out of season.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) contacted two anglers on a public fishing pier with neither having a 2015 fishing license; enforcement action was taken. One of them had been cited by Lawler twice during the past year for the same violation, now making three times within 18 months.
A bow hunter was cited for taking a deer out of season. They mixed up what weekend they thought was opener and realized it after a deer had been shot. Feeling terrible about the mistake, they called in to report their problem and get in contact with a CO. Enforcement action was taken, but their honesty helped them immensely when all was said and done.
Officer Scott Staples (Carlton) investigated a complaint of shooting on a lake and looked into a person finding a large amount of feathers in his mailbox. There was no information found that would have led to the suspected mailbox feather person.
CO Brad Johnson (Maplewood) worked the DNR information booth at the State Fair. A fair goer brought an injured goldfinch to the booth, and Johnson transported the bird to the wildlife rehabilitation center after his shift at the fair.
CO Joe Kulhanek (Hastings) responded to a call of a python on the side of the road. The snake was deceased upon arrival and citizens are reminded not to release unwanted pets into the wild.
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