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)
focused on the spring fish run and patrolled for unlawful burning. He responded to a grass fire and checked stream fishermen.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
checked streams and rivers during the spring fish run. Anglers are reporting a good bite for steelhead and loopers. Theofficerworked on equipment issues and prepared boats for the open water season.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
checked trout anglers and responded to fire calls. Dry conditions remain, leaving fire danger quite high. Equipment maintenance issues were handled and phone calls returned.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids)
worked shore fishermen in the area with moderate catch rates of suckers and panfish. One shore angler was a little early when it came to the walleye season by over a month! When Sutherland knocked on his door the individual immediately stated that he had walleyes in his house, but he had eaten them as soon as he got them home. The remains of the three walleyes were collected and the individual was given a citation for keeping walleyes out of season.
CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors)
continued to work on wildfire investigations during this past week. Thomasen spent considerable time working with other area officers monitoring fish run and smelting activities. Two separate groups were apprehended for illegally netting rainbow trout from area rivers in the middle of the night. Thesmelt run has been fairly strong compared to previous years.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake)
had one unusual incident. He responded to reports that two young lions escaped from a local zoo. A short time later the lions were located walking in a field a quarter-mile away from the area they initially escaped. Another officer was with Mathy when the lions were located but by the time the lions were spotted there wasn’t a chance of retreat. The lions stood 25 yards from the officers and were looking at them, deliberately walking to their location. A few tense moments ensued as the 100-pound lion cubs rubbed up against the officers and let out a few small roars. Five minutes later the officers followed the lions to a nearby residence where the owners were waiting to take them back to the zoo.
CO Thephong Le (ELCO P)
asked an angler for his fishing license. The angler stated that he had an “all states” license but did not have it with him at the moment. He said his wife had it and she was at a local store. Later, the angler told Le that his “all states” license was actually only valid for the West Coast states of California, Washington, Oregon and Florida, even though Florida is not a West Coast state. After about 20 minutes of waiting, the angler finally admitted he didn’t have a Minnesota fishing license.
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