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 Mary Manning (Hovland)
seized a yearling black bear that was shot and dumped at the MnDOT garage in Hovland; anyone with information is asked to contact the TIP line. Manning worked a detail in Ely checking anglers and BWCA campers; several citations were issued and numerous fish were seized. The officer also took a report of a couple smaller stream trout with indigestible plastic baits filling their stomachs; the angler stated it appeared the bait had been there a considerable time and the fish had eaten little else.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais)
received several calls of bears being bears. One bear entered a cabin and helped himself to some donuts left inside an open screen on a table. People are finding that removing bird seed and feeders after the fact is not a good tactic to keep bears away. COs no longer trap and remove bears. They will just become a problem somewhere else. So do your part remove the attractant before they become a problem.
CO Tom Wahlstrom (Tofte)
worked anglers in the BWCA. Lake trout were getting caught. Theweather was nice and campers were enjoying themselves. Lake Superior was also worked for boating safety and anglers checked. Enforcement action was taken for no PFDs, extra lines and no angling license.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd)
made an extra line contact where the suspect said, “You weren’t suppose to be out here tonight.”
CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors)
talked with one couple who had purchased a resident combination angling license and forgot to rehearse their story completely. The female half stated they had been married one year, while the male half stated they had been married for eight years. Enforcement action followed after it was determined that they were not married at all.
CO Larry Francis (Remer)
noted that an “unofficial” sign of summer had once again arrived — the frequent operation of an ATV on the state highway. The all-too-common excuse of, “I got lost, so I just had to run down the highway” was joined by a new one this week when Francis encountered an ATV towing another ATV down the highway. Thegroup advised that they had run out of gas. When Francis suggested that they should have doubled up on one machine to run to get fuel, they responded, “I don’t know if we could have found the machine again,” though somehow they “found” the highway. Citations were issued.
Leave a Reply