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 anglers along the U.S./Canada border. He responded to a fire in Grand Marais and followed up on cases from the fall hunting season. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile violations.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports hitting the trails and lakes via snowmobile throughout the week. A dusting of snow late in the week brought out snowmobile riders, but it was still pretty bumpy. The North Shore State Trail is your best bet, but be mindful that some parts of the trail are better than others. A citation was issued to a rider for an after-market exhaust. Anglers targeting late trout experienced intermittent luck, but stream trout anglers found great success on lakes around Grand Marais. One person was contacted using live minnows and too many lines on a designated trout lake. Enforcement action was taken. Hill assisted the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office with multiple calls and also spoke on WTIP radio in Grand Marais.
CO Ashley Whiteoak (Malmo) spent time patrolling Mille Lacs Lake for fishing activity. Enforcement action was taken for unmeasurable fish, possession of dressed fish on the lake, ice shelter on the ice without a license, failure to display an ice shelter tag, failure to display shelter identification markings, fishing without an angling license, no fishing license in possession, unattended lines, failure to affix an unexpired decal on a snowmobile, and unregistered snowmobiles. She assisted at the fur registration at the Aitkin DNR office and spent time patrolling Jay Cooke State Park. Along with CO Dustie Speldrich, Whiteoak saved a domesticated farm duck that was found on a busy road and nearly got hit by cars. The duck made it home to its owners. The owners where happy to have their duck, named Mo, back. They explained that Mo is known as their watchdog.
CO Mike Krauel (Mora) spent the past week checking anglers and patrolling for snowmobile activity. Several anglers were attempting to jumpstart their fishing by using extra lines. One angler tried to hide his extra line by throwing his rattle reel down the hole, but the reel and bracket got stuck in on the ice and he was unable to kick it down before Krauel saw it. Another angler attempted to cut a tail on a walleye to get it into the legal slot limit. When Krauel pointed out that walleyes don’t normally have tails that go in a straight line and usually have longer tails, the angler admitted to cutting the tail. Throughout the week, enforcement action was taken for illegal-length fish, possession of marijuana, angling with extra lines, expired snowmobile registration, and several fish shelter violations.
CO Nicholas Klehr (Litchfield) spent the majority of the past week checking anglers and ATV and snowmobile riders on the lakes. A group of high school students was checked taking advantage of distance learning by attending their classes and doing their school work from the fish house. Ice conditions are improving, but all ice and lakes are not the same. Anglers need to use caution when driving on the ice. Klehr also spent time assisting on a work detail along the Minnesota River Valley.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck South) reports working trapping, snowmobiling and angling activity this past week. Anglers reported varied success, catching a few walleyes, bluegills, crappies and small perch. The bite was consistently slow. Time was spent patrolling area trails, assisting Bemidji DNR Wildlife with the bobcat/ fur registration and conducting follow-up investigation of ongoing trapping cases. Regas handled two separate incidents of incidental catches of wolves in trappers’ coyote sets. Violations encountered and addressed this past week include possession of a small amount of marijuana, no breakaway devices on snares, possession of protected slot northern pike and angling license/trout stamp violations.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports fishing on area lakes was slow this past week with a few panfish being caught. Trails have seen quite a bit of traffic and are showing wear. A TIP of coyote hunters trespassing was investigated and the group was talked to about making sure they know where they are and that permission was obtained. Vinton assisted the Perham Police Department with a missing child who was suspected of walking outside in the bitter cold in nothing but pajamas. Vinton arrived on scene and obtained a description and name for the child. When Vinton went to a neighboring house for permission to look for the child in a detached garage, he saw the child lying face-down in the snow and not moving. Vinton grabbed the child and carried them to the waiting ambulance, which transported them to the local hospital. Vinton learned the next day the child was going to be OK. Enforcement action was taken for failure to mark a fish house, no license in possession, failure to display ATV registration and trespass.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) assisted with fur registration, worked snowmobile and angling enforcement and assisted with a search warrant for an ongoing case. Peterson followed up on a possible illegal wolf kill. The animal’s head was removed. He also dealt with a trapper taking small game without a trapping or small-game license.
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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