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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) spent time checking whitefish netters and deer hunters over the warm opening weekend. He assisted Cook County deputies with a vehicular homicide. Enforcement action was taken for trapping and big-game violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) spent a warm week and firearms deer opener in the North Woods. Grouse hunters are still afield but reporting few birds. Manning took a couple reports of dogs caught in fox traps. Deer season was off to a slow start and hunters reported far more squirrels than anything else. A few hunters gave up and opted to switch to grouse hunting due to temperatures and lack of movement by the deer. Deer hunters are reminded to validate tags at the kill site. Don’t wait until you put the tag on at your camp or vehicle.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) prepared for and worked the opening weekend of the firearms season. Many hunters were contacted and as expected due to the warm weather, the success rate was extremely low. One of the few harvested deer that Hill did encounter, though, was found to be in violation after the hunter incorrectly validated their tag and failed to tag the animal. Another hunter was cited for hunting deer with the aid of bait after a bait block was found in front of their ground blind. Believe it or not, even though the hunter caught Hill on a trail camera inspecting their bait block, they still hunted the ground blind and even freshened the pile up with more bait! An ATV operator on a roadway was cited for no driver’s license.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) found a lot of hunters out during the unseasonably warm firearms deer opener. Hunting deer over bait continued to be a problem and corn piles were found under multiple hunters’ stands throughout the area. Piles of shelled corn were found near stands and some hunters flung corn kernels over large areas in hopes it would be less noticeable. In one instance an individual hunting over bait, and without a deer license, tried hiding his rifle behind a tree and claimed to be “just hanging out.”
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) responded to a call of a small white-tailed buck that knocked a young boy down and roughed him up a little bit while he and his older brother were playing and chopping wood in their backyard. The older brother attempted to scare the buck off, but when it wouldn’t leave he ran and notified their father. His dad attempted to scare the buck off as well, but when it appeared it was going to attack again the man shot at it with his pistol. Vinton and Regional Training Officer Greg Oldakowski tracked the buck the next morning for nearly a half-mile without success. Vinton assured the boy it was a crazy thing that will never happen again and that he’ll have a really cool story to tell his grandchildren. Vinton assisted the Otter Tail County Sheriff ’s Office with an assault and order-for-protection violation that led to Vinton engaging in a foot pursuit of the suspect through the woods and toward waiting officers. The suspect was taken into custody and a second suspect wanted on a state warrant was also apprehended. Deer opening weekend brought mild weather and a few deer. Enforcement action was taken for no blaze orange, failure to tag deer and transporting a loaded rifle in a combine.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the past week monitoring deer hunting, duck hunting, and angling activity in the Pelican Rapids station. Diehard anglers are finding a decent crappie bite on area lakes while duck hunters are still having some success on diver ducks. Deer hunters reported good success despite the unseasonably warm weather. Baiting continues to be a prevalent violation and some hunters who were expecting to see a nice buck visiting their bait piles instead were met by officers and issued citations for their illegal activity. Calls from the public included trespass complaints, reports of deer-carcass dumping, stolen deer blinds, and questions about deer limits and permit areas. Assistance was also provided to the Becker County Sheriff ’s Office with a lost hunter and the Clay County Sheriff ’s Office for a deer drive that resulted in a house being shot. Enforcement action was taken for shooting deer from a motor vehicle, hunting deer over bait, trespass, illegal-length crappies, and a handful of various ATV-related violations.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) checked areas for deer baiting, worked deer hunting opener and addressed several deer-hunting complaints. Deer baiting was the most prevalent violation over the opening weekend. One deer hunter had enough corn spread out to feed all the deer in the area. In the hunter’s deer stand was enough alcohol to keep a bartender and customers happy for quite some time. The hunter had started drinking before sunrise. Two rifles were seized in that case. Assistance was provided to the Hibbing Police Department with a suicidal individual who had a knife. The incident ended peacefully and he was transported by ambulance. Enforcement action was taken for hunting deer over bait, no blaze orange, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, possessing a firearm outdoors without a deer license, and ATV violations.
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