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) dealt with a bobcat that killed a pet cat in Grand Marais. The CO’s own suet bill is going sky-high due to those critters, which shows animals are having a tough time finding food in the forest. A beautiful weekend was had by the few anglers and snowmobile riders who were out. Trail conditions and lake conditions were very good.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) has been investigating several property owners posting land and cutting trees on Lake Superior shoreline on state-owned property. She patrolled snowmobile trails and responded to assist an older snowmobiler whose sled had gotten mired in the slush just off the groomed trail. Manning also checked anglers and former fish house locations, attended the funeral of retired CO Gene Borud as part of the DNR Honor Guard, and assisted Cook County with a suspicious activity report.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent time checking anglers and snowmobile activity. The trails are in excellent condition and some nice trout were seen in the bag. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile violations.
CO Keith Olson (Lake Superior Marine Unit) checked snowmobilers on the trails north of Duluth. The trails are starting to deteriorate with the warming weather. Olson also checked trout anglers on Lake Superior and reports catches of lake trout and herring are still being seen.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) gave a possession tag to an individual who found a dead bobcat with a face full of porcupine quills in his barn.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) reports that a call came in about a deer that was acting aggressive toward a dog. It was likely the result of the deer trying to get to the food the landowner put out for the deer. The deer are hungry this time of year and are more aggressive than normal trying to access food locations and areas free of snow.
CO Tom Hemker (Winona) reports receiving many calls about sick and injured deer. One landowner had a deer caught in a fence while another had found six dead deer on a relatively small property. Yet another landowner had two deer dead within feet of each other but they died one week apart.
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