Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen
and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few who 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 Aaron Kahre (Minnetonka)
encountered a fisherman who was almost 60 fish over his limit. The fisherman saw the CO as he was walking back to his truck and tried to dump most of the extra fish before he was contacted by the CO. When Kahre looked into his bucket, he noted the fisherman was still over his limit even after ditching most of the fish. The CO found where he had hidden the extra fish and appropriate paperwork was issued.
Kahre was also called to assist another agency with a vehicle that was stuck in the flood waters of the Minnesota River. When the CO arrived, he saw that a young man had driven his pickup down a walking trail and slid into a spot that was several feet deep. When the officers asked what he was doing, he replied that he wanted to see how deep the water was. All in all, it was a very expensive experiment.
CO Troy Ter Meer (Marine Unit)
checked on someone cutting a rack off a deer on the side of the road and located a loaded and uncased pistol in the vehicle along with another illegally possessed deer head.
CO Paul Kuske (Pierz)
reports conditions are prime for wildfires. At one illegal fire, Kuske and a Morrison County deputy used fire extinguishers to knock down the flames as they approached a building. The property owner had been burning garbage and negligently started a field on fire. DNR Forestry responded with suppression as the fire burned onto adjacent properties and the smoke created a traffic hazard on the highway, with visibility down to mere feet. Enforcement action will include citations and suppression costs.
CO Brett Oberg (Hutchinson)
assisted the Sibley County sheriff with locating some young boaters who decided it would be fun to float the flooded Rush River; the individuals were found safe.
CO Paul Nelson (Elbow Lake)
checked anglers and monitored ice conditions. Ice conditions are deteriorating rapidly. A complaint of swans frozen in the ice was investigated. The swans were just resting on the ice and were fine.
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