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 Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) worked ongoing hunting seasons, attended training at Camp Ripley, worked whitefish-netting enforcement near Ely and continued to work illegal spruce-top cases. Possession of controlled substances was collateral damage for suspects during two incidents. One duck hunter was cited for drug paraphernalia and marijuana. Three people were arrested for felony level drug possession during a spruce-top case. One passenger had syringes, meth and two felony warrants (car theft and drugs). The driver and another passenger were in possession of enough meth and marijuana to be considered dealers. Enforcement action was taken on a number of whitefish netting violations, no PFDs, no identification on a bear bait barrel, and drug-related violations.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Cook) continues working on decorative forestry product cases and a walleye-overlimit case from the previous weeks. He also observed that waterfowl and small-game-hunting screeched to a halt after several snow storms that hit the region as of late. Zavodnik continues to monitor big game and trespass and also worked on equipment maintenance throughout the past week.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked small game, ATV and trapping enforcement. He monitored whitefish netting and followed up on past investigations. An ATV safety field day was held in Grand Marais.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) attended and helped instruct at annual in-service training held at Camp Ripley. Several inches of fresh snow made for challenging conditions on the range and were great training for the snow conditions around the state this past week. Manning also helped volunteer instructors and other officers with an ATV safety field day for students in Grand Marais. A few overeager snowmobilers were spotted this past week, although snow depths are not quite enough to prevent serious damage to sleds. Lakes are also showing signs of freeze up and folks are reminded to use caution and check conditions frequently when they venture onto the ice.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports conducting multiple commercial minnow retailer inspections throughout the week at area businesses. All paperwork was in order. An ATV safety field day was completed at the Cook County Public School with 12 excited youth receiving their safety certificates. Time was spent at Camp Ripley for yearly in-service training.
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) and K9 Schody assisted with a deer-poaching case in the Detroit Lakes area. Annual training was attended at Camp Ripley where part of the training was giving trapping updates to the rest of the conservation officers in the state. Assistance was given to a local resident who was having problems with a bobcat killing their pet ducks.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) attended annual in-service training at Camp Ripley and worked on storing boating equipment for the season. ATV activity continues to remain steady and more people were seen in the woods preparing deer stands for the upcoming season. Some follow-up interviews were done regarding juveniles who were successful during the early youth hunt. The problem was that they used early antlerless tags and were nowhere near an early antlerless zone. Their excuse was that the guy at the gas station said that was what they needed. Frericks reminds all hunters to ask a CO if they have questions about licenses and not the guy at the gas station.
Contact local DNR Conservation Officers to report violations or ask questions:
Thomas Wahlstrom 218-370-0244
Kylan Hill 218-387-4393
Mary Manning 218-387-5285
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