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 the kick-off of the ice-fishing and snowmobile seasons in the northeast. Check ice conditions yourself before venturing out and don’t rely on hearsay.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters and followed up on deer-baiting complaints. Some folks got their venison through collisions and several car-kill deer possession tags were issued. Manning also took a report of a Canada goose sitting on the roadside watching traffic go by. The bird was a little late to the migration, apparently. Manning checked burn piles, state parks and trap sets to round out the week.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) finished up the last week of the firearms deer season. Many hunters were checked with varying success. Complaints were followed up on and questions answered. Various big-game violations were encountered.
CO Hannah Mishler (Baudette) reports a busy last week of the deer season. As time ran out, desperation ran high for many hunters and an increase in violations seemed to occur. Enforcement action was taken for multiple game violations, including shooting from the road, trespassing, overlimit of deer, untagged deer, unlawful party hunting, transporting illegally taken big game, and gross misdemeanor use of artificial lights to locate game.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) provided assistance to two duck hunters who were stranded on the lake when they had boat motor issues on a very breezy 13-degree day. A call was received from a landowner who found two whole deer dumped on his land with their heads cut off and no meat taken. Illegal taking of forest products was also investigated.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) reports that one hunter was so desperate to get a big buck this year that he ended up shooting an 8-pointer on the neighbor’s field. When the neighbor went out to check where the shot came from, the suspect was seen running across the neighbor’s field, back to his house, and leaving the deer behind. When Vollbrecht and CO Zavodnik arrived at the scene, it was clear from the boot prints in the snow that he had run from the field straight to the back patio of his house. The suspect was interviewed and he quickly admitted to shooting the 8-pointer, stating that, “The antlers got in my head and I took the shot without thinking.”
COC Garrett Thomas (Perham) captured a trumpeter swan that was unable to fly on the softball field of a local school. The swan was released on the river with other swans and appeared to be faring well.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) finished up the rifle deer season by assisting CO Bozovsky with a shooting from the road case where the hunter not only shot from the road but also onto posted property and was within 500 feet of an occupied residence. While patrolling the Forbes area for deer hunters, Frericks located foot prints through the snow going directly past a No Trespassing sign and leading onto mine property. Frericks followed the tracks for over an hour and finally located a large deer stand with shooting lanes. The occupant admitted he knew he was on mine property and that he could not be there. When Frericks looked down the shooting lane and asked the hunter if there was bait down there the hunter said there was. The hunter admitted dumping a 50-pound bag of corn over the two shooting lanes two days prior to being located by Frericks. The hunter’s rifle was seized and he was cited for the violation.
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