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) checked deer hunters in the field and traveling the roads looking for deer. The season finished out with many tags unfilled. Manning followed up on deer-license issues from the season, issued car-killed deer permits and handled squad maintenance issues. Lakes are freezing with the lack of snow and low overnight temperatures, but folks are urged to use caution when venturing out to check the ice.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports a very busy week of checking deer hunters in the Tofte area and surrounding stations. The ongoing cold weather kept the deer on their feet with a few nice bucks seen at camps. This spike in deer movement also led to Hill issuing possession permits for car-killed deer. Hill also did some outreach with a local news outlet. Grouse hunters were also checked and no violations were seen.
CO David Schottenbauer (Silver Bay) worked the last week of deer season. Time was spent checking a few grouse hunters as well. Schottenbauer came across a couple of cross-country skiers on a partially frozen lake. The skiers were warned about the poor ice conditions.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) worked firearms deer activity with a focus on baiting and individuals who choose to shoot from the road. He requested Aviation Unit assistance with an ongoing case involving corn, oats and pumpkins. Photographs should be invaluable with CWD feeding ban, baiting, blaze orange and ATV registration charges. A trespass complaint was handled, as was an individual who was burning furniture. He also reassured a widow who had chased an ermine out of her house with a hammer.
CO Hanna Wood (Wheaton) spent the past week focused on waterfowl and other small-game enforcement. The end of deer season, colder weather and ice forming has caused a significant decrease in activity. She took calls regarding an aggressive turkey, a deer stuck in the ice, firearms-possession questions, waterfowl success, license questions, and more. Violations for the week include hunting without a license.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) reports overall deer-hunting activity this past week was some of the slowest observed. Most hunters wondered where the deer were and commented that this was the worst year for seeing deer they can remember. The milder temperatures toward the end of the week coupled with hunters closing up their shacks for the season brought an uptick in activity, but still negative reports. A report of sick raccoons was heard, with the caller concerned her dog had encountered two slow-moving raccoons within the same general area in the past five weeks. Other activity included a trespass complaint and a decorative materials cutter operating without documented permission. Transporting loaded firearms in a motor vehicle was also encountered.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany) worked on several deer-hunting investigations from the gun season resulting in violations for taking deer with no license, lending and borrowing deer tags, shooting from the road and untagged deer. Many duck-hunting complaints came in – mainly hunters hunting close to homes. Nuisance-animal calls came in for sleepy raccoons in odd places.
CO Tom Hemker (Winona) continues to work with COC Meng Moua. They saw good numbers of deer hunters out during the second season but deer harvest was much slower than the first season. The duck hunting has also slowed, with very few ducks checked per hunter. The officers responded to TIP calls about illegal deer hunting, along with several trespass calls. They did find violations of shining deer while possessing a bow, taking an over-limit of deer, transporting loaded guns and not wearing blaze clothing while hunting deer. Unusual deer happenings included a call of an injured deer attempting to enter a house patio door and an injured deer that charged a hunter, cutting him in several locations.
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