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 Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports taking over duties in Tofte. Equipment inventory and radio maintenance was completed and Hill familiarized himself with different areas of his new station.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) spent the week checking small-game hunters and ATV riders. Wildlife-related calls and past investigations were followed up on. Enforcement action was taken for burning, hunting and firearms violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) took questions about the upcoming firearms deer season and checked stands and hunting areas for deer bait. She also took a report of a grouse hunter in a state park and an accidental-catch fisher. She checked trap sets, grouse hunters and anglers.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) investigated a complaint of decoys being left out overnight and it was discovered the responsible hunter was in jail and unable to pick up the decoys. A hunting partner agreed to retrieve them.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Cook) observed a white trash bag containing plucked ducks dumped on the shore of the Willow River.
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) looked into a call of a dead swan. It was determined that the swan flew into some power lines and died as a result.
CO James Fogarty (Prior Lake) upon checking one group of duck hunters, observed a hunter run and hide his shotgun in some tall grass. After retrieving the shotgun, Fogarty found the hunter did not have a hunting license. Enforcement action was taken for no federal waterfowl stamp, no small-game license and failure to sign a federal waterfowl stamp.
NR Pilot Brad Maas (Brainerd) completed two days of trout stream beaver dam assessments for Duluth and Hinckley fisheries. Beaver dams slow the water flow, allowing it to warm to nearly 80 degrees in the summer, which is detrimental to trout. The flight for Duluth covers at least 80 miles of stream in just one day of work by air. Then a USDA trapper will come in and remove the animals and the dams.
Contact local DNR Conservation Officers to report violations or ask questions:
Thomas Wahlstrom
218-370-0244
Mary Manning
218-475-0121
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