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) took care of seasonal equipment issues during the week. Follow-up on ongoing cases and phone calls on muzzleloader season and trapping were also taken care of.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) completed office work wrapping up the firearms deer season and following up on open cases. Manning also patrolled state and federal forests checking marten and fisher traps.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent the week checking deer hunters, trappers and small game hunters. The officer answered calls regarding ice fishing and muzzleloader hunting. Enforcement action was taken for big game, firearms and ATV violations
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) issued a permit to a hunter who found the buck he’d shot during the rifle season. The deer had been fed upon but the hunter wished to keep the antlers.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) reports that persistence paid off as an archery deer hunter finally showed up on his baited site after three weeks of the officer checking. His 50 pounds of corn earned him a citation for hunting over bait and for no blaze orange, while his bow was seized.
CO Rick Reller (Buffalo) reported that three duck hunters had a scare on Pelican Lake when their overloaded 14-foot boat took on water and overturned in the frigid water. Luckily two other hunters were in the area to help them out of a life-threating situation. The three hunters were treated at a local hospital for hypothermia and released. After bringing the wet hunters to the access, the good Samaritans were also able to save all the equipment that was floating around the area including the guns that were cased in floating cases. The boat was righted and towed back to the access also.
CO Doug Lage (Marshall) assisted South Dakota hunters with retrieving a buck that ran into Minnesota. The hunters wanted to use a drone to locate the animal but that idea was quickly dismissed by the officer. The hunter was advised that use of drones to take wild animals is illegal.
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