Although the Cook County News- Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are lawabiding 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 Thomas Wahlstrom Tofte) worked a commercial netting complaint and checked anglers on Lake Superior. Some nice lake trout were seen in the bag. He checked ATVs and anglers on inland lakes and followed up on wildlife-related complaints.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) witnessed two Class 1 ATVs loaded with small kids and adult drivers cruising the forest road. She tracked them down and educated the drivers about safety and operation regulations. Manning also helped with the Great Lakes Landing Blitz, educating folks about aquatic invasive species. She attended a county AIS task force meeting. Manning also assisted the county on a report of a young man who was thought to have fallen into the Pigeon River Gorge. It turned out he had ignored signage and climbed into a closed area around the falls and had difficulty getting back out.
CO Demosthenes Regas Blackduck) assisted the sheriff’s office with the recovery of three anglers who were ejected from their boat. The boat then went spinning out of control on Blackduck Lake. All three anglers and their dog were rescued with no apparent injuries, but they were wet and shaken by the incident. None of the anglers wore a PFD. This incident is a good reminder to wear PFD, as you never know when something like that will occur
CO Mitch Lawler Alexandria) encountered a boat with several college-age anglers that had registration that expired in 1988, which is before any of the boat’s occupants were born. A citation was issued.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) was contacted by a landowner to report two ATVs stuck in a swamp on a snowmobile trail. At the time of the call, Frericks was several miles away and didn’t think he had a chance of finding the ATVs. The landowner added there were two state troopers at an intersection just down the road from his house. With assistance from the troopers, the ATV operators were located. Both were wearing chest waders and told Frericks they planned on going mudding when they left their houses. The ATV operators were cited for operating on the snowmobile trail and carelessly upsetting the ecological balance of the wetland.
CO Annette Kyllo (Pierz) investigated a TIP call of a bear shot out of season. The responsible person stated his motive for shooting the bear was, “I don’t like bears.”
Northwest RTO Greg Oldakowski received a call of an eagle dead in the road. It turned out to be a turkey vulture.
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