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) did a canoe patrol into the BWCA, checked remote designated trout lakes, and followed up on an arson case. Boating safety checks were also done.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) handled complaints of nuisance beavers and a problem bear in a BWCA campsite. She followed up on ongoing big game, WMA and boating issues, and also attended a meeting of the division’s Use of Force team at Camp Ripley. Anglers and boaters on inland lakes were also checked.
CO Don Murray (Two Harbors) worked ATV and angling activity during the week. Fishing improved on Lake Superior with some nice lake trout being caught. Murray also investigated an illegal burning complaint and a nonpayment issue in a state forest campground.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) handled complaints of nuisance bears in the area. One bear has been known to hang out in a yard and just lie around, scaring off the dog. Also, a nuisance deer is being investigated. The deer had been bottle-fed and now it has no fear of humans and is becoming aggressive toward the landowner and his dog.
CO Chelsey Best (Remer) took care of a call reporting an individual standing on the culvert for a county road and shooting beavers with a shotgun. Enforcement action was taken for license and registration issues.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) reports that a driver passed him and proceeded to travel 90 mph down the highway (in a 55-mph zone). He was stopped and claimed he didn’t think there was a speed limit on the paved county road. His excuse was quite a stretch and he was cited.
CO Jimmy Van Asch (Pengilly) was called to respond to a moose that was trapped in a baseball field. The moose was removed from the baseball field and was uninjured when it ran off.
CO Tim Collette (Brainerd) reports that too many walleyes over 20 inches is a common violation and anglers were caught this week trimming tails with scissors to make them appear under the 20-inch mark.
CO Dustie Speldrich (Willow River) received a device turned over by an ATV enthusiast that was in the ATV trail and popped her tire. The device was obviously made and set in the trail to do just that. The incident is under investigation.
CO Kylan Hill (Zumbrota) reports finishing an ongoing trapping case. Multiple abandoned snares were found on a property that were untagged, snare loops were larger than 10 inches and multiple dead animals were found inside a few snares. The trapper was found and was issued multiple citations.
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