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 deer hunters were happy to see fresh deer tracking snow. That happiness was short-lived as many hunters reported seeing lots of wolf tracks and too few deer tracks. The CO cited a deer hunter for hunting over bait and seized his rifle that the hunter’s father had given him the day before. That rifle had been passed down to the hunter’s father from his grandfather. Some people continue to bait and believe increasing their chance for a deer is worth taking the risk of losing a family heirloom. The CO also took enforcement action for hunter harassment, operating ATV outside deer hunter hours, operate ATV without safety certificate, operate ATV on public roadway without driver license, and for selling netted rough fish.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent time checking deer hunters and investigating past bear cases. Hunters are enjoying the warm weather so far this season. Complaints were followed up on and enforcement action was taken for big game violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters and followed up on cases from opening weekend. The officer also checked grouse hunters and ATV operators, assisted Cook County Sheriff’s Office and continued to answer questions about the firearms deer season.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) assisted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office with locating a missing individual who was an avid trapper. His vehicle was found parked next to a popular hunting marsh, while searching from his kayak. Lawler found the deceased individual next to his trapping equipment in shallow water. It serves as a painful reminder to always think of safety while in the outdoors.
CO Sam Hunter (Park Rapids) received a call of a hunting party shooting at another hunting party and multiple trespass issues.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) primarily worked deer season, handled a number of complaints and TIP calls, and managed to locate some grouse and duck hunters. A deer hunter checked said he shot a spike buck and now he’s “looking for horns.” He said he had been party hunting, however he was hunting alone the day he was checked and the day he shot the spike, using a family member’s borrowed license, which apparently had been standard practice for 20 years. The tag had not been validated and the deer had not been registered. Numerous citations were issued.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) handled a report of a hunter on public property being harassed because someone else has hunted in the area for 50 years. According to the suspect that means they were there first.
A rural landowner called Frericks to report his van that was parked in his driveway was struck by a bullet. Frericks arrived and eventually found the bullet after it had struck the frame of the van. A search of the area revealed a deer stand and a fresh deer kill immediately to the south of the residence where the van was struck. By following the drag marks of the deer the CO was able to locate the person who fired the shot. The investigation is still ongoing.
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