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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) monitored angling activity on area lakes in Cook and Lake counties. Trout fishing has slowed. The snowmobile trails are in excellent shape. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile activity.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) attended training in Duluth during the week. He also checked weekend snowmobile traffic as many people rode in the Cook County Ridge Riders Fun Run. The weather was great and lots of people talked about how impressed they were with the trail conditions and are thankful to the groomer operators.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) reports that a deer had to be euthanized after it became entangled in the cables of a hanging bird feeder.
CO Dan Starr (Onamia) gave assistance to a novice angler in catching a 27-inch walleye. The beginner took the advice of CO Starr and ended up landing a true trophy within a few minutes of coaching.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) dealt with several calls involving injured deer, owls and eagles. One of the animal reports resulted in finding a bald eagle that was resting after most likely having eaten more than its share of a deer carcass. Another report turned out to be an owl that had probably done the same thing. Both birds were fine and eventually continued on their way.
CO Kylan Hill (Zumbrota) stopped a snowmobiler for not displaying registration. When asked how long he had been riding the snowmobile that day, the rider told him that he took the sled out of the shed a few minutes prior to fill it up with gas in town and he readily admitted the registration for the snowmobile had “recently” expired. What the rider did not know was that CO Hill had been watching the rider operate the snowmobile on area trails. The registration on the snowmobile had expired in 2001.
CO Eric Benjamin (Warroad) responded to a report of a nuisance wolf or coyote that had been hanging around a residence off and on for over a week and had killed a pet cat. Upon investigating he found a pile of household garbage very close to the residence. Much like bears throughout the spring and summer, trash can draw rodents and other unwanted animals in the winter. Please dispose of your trash properly or expect such visits, the CO advised.
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