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) checked small- and big-game hunters. Success rates seemed low, but folks are still enjoying time in the woods.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters and small-game hunters. Fresh snow seemed to do little to help with deer movement as hunters reported another slow week.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports a large uptick in deer movement after a recent cold front hit the Arrowhead this past week. Some dandy bucks were seen at deer camp and every tag was correctly validated and attached to the animal. On his way to the regional office in Grand Rapids, Hill encountered illegal balsam bough harvesting on U.S. Forest Service land. He also cited a party for transporting a loaded rifle in a motor vehicle after Hill contacted three hunters near the wood line of a county road after the group attempted to take a deer that had crossed the road. Enforcement action was taken on two ATV riders for registration violations. Hill issued a brand new adult trapper a warning for violating lynx management zone trap laws. Hill spent time explaining the laws to the trapper, who was also thanked for bringing along a young teenager and showing them around the great outdoors.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd) worked the busy firearms deer season. Numerous hunters were contacted. They were having varying success. One hunter in the moments before sunset was able to take three deer out of one herd. The hunter told Guida the moment of the harvest “got pretty wild.” Guida interviewed a suspect in a shooting from the roadway/trespass complaint where a rifle and a fawn that was shot were seized in the violation. The poacher faces substantial fines, forfeiture of equipment, and loss of hunting privileges if convicted. Numerous other enforcement actions were taken over the past week.
CO Nathan Benkofske (Milaca) reports checking deer hunters and investigating calls. Enforcement action was taken for untagged deer, transporting loaded firearms, illegal party hunting, and hunting deer without a license. CO Starr and Benkofske observed an individual shoot an overlimit of bucks and then wait in his tree stand for an acquaintance to show up from his house to unlawfully tag it.
CO Thor Nelson (New Ulm) received calls concerning hunting law clarifications, trespassing, and shining wild animals. He worked mainly deer-hunting and ATV enforcement activities. Hats off to a caller who described himself as a beginning hunter. He turned himself in for allowing his teenage son to shoot at a deer from the roadway. The caller learned from another hunter after retelling the story that shooting from the road was illegal. This violation wasn’t witnessed and the caller had no fear of being reported. His conscience was his guide.
CO Tyler Ramaker (La Crescent) checked deer hunters throughout the week and final weekend of the A Season. Strong winds effected deer movement and hunter success. Two waterfowl hunters ended up in the water after their boat capsized in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River. A local resident along the river, after hearing the hunter’s calls for help, was able to quickly launch his boat and rescue both hunters. Other waterfowl hunters helped out by collecting the two hunters’ decoys, guns and other belongings that were floating down the channel. Violations encountered included transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, illegal party hunting and several license and registration violations.
CO Hanna Wood (Wheaton) spent the past week focused on big-game enforcement. She took several calls from people with questions regarding the deer season and trespass. She also took calls regarding injured deer and an injured swan. Wood assisted the Wheaton Fire Department with a house fire in town that ended up a complete loss. Wood also witnessed an individual shoot and kill a pheasant from a motor vehicle, after hours, on property that wasn’t theirs, and without blaze orange on. Other violations for the week included failure to display ATV registration, transporting a loaded firearm, transporting an uncased firearm, failure to register deer, and failure to validate a deer tag. Several car-killed deer-possession permits were issued.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) reports working a busy week of deer-hunting enforcement. Two mature bucks were seized one morning on separate shooting from the road right-of-way cases within a mile of each other. Several folks were contacted hunting while revoked. In another case, an individual was contacted pulling a buck out of the woods. When checking his license, it was discovered that he purchased his license an hour and a half before the check, and the individual admitted to shooting the deer in his yard and then going and purchasing a license. Additional enforcement action included cutting spruce tops without consent and transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle.
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