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 Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais)
checked anglers and boat and water safety equipment. He took phone calls on pigeons and more questions on the crow season. Fagerman also attended a meeting with the U.S. Coast Guard.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
took a few calls on nuisance bears. Manning patrolled inland lakes and Lake Superior. The officer also worked the Salmon Classic and checked anglers and boaters in the Silver Bay area with CO Wahlstrom. One kayaker tried the excuse that he had so many boats that he had forgotten to renew the one he was in; the excuse did not hold water.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
patrolled the BWCAW with Officer Schottenbauer. The officer handled nuisance bear and beaver complaints. Wahlstrom also worked the Salmon Classic in Silver Bay on Lake Superior with Manning. Some nice salmon and lakers were entered in the contest. Enforcement action was taken for boating, angling and ATV violations.
CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors)
investigated the report of a canoe being stored illegally within one of the state parks. A train-killed moose was handled late one night. Thomasen also met with the assistant county attorney about some outstanding cases which are headed for prosecution.
CO Gary Sommers’ (Walker)
was approached by two individuals from Iowa who were glad to see him. They were operating ATVs in the Paul Bunyan State Forest and had been trying to find the trails that were on the map they had printed off the Internet. They even stopped by a residence looking for directions, but that was no help. Sommers looked at the map they had printed; it was for the motorcycle trail, not the ATV trail. He was able to provide them an ATV map and pointed them in the right direction.
CO Jeff Halverson (Staples)
responded to a call of a dog that got stuck in his owner’s boat motor in the middle of Lake Alex. The dog’s rear leg was stuck under the steering bar and the owner could not free him. Halverson borrowed a boat and was able to free the dog. The only injury was to the dog owner’s hand; he was handling the mouth end of the dog and got bit.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany)
was checking a public access this week when he saw a female swimming at the boat ramp pulling a port-a-potty. Some vandals had pushed the outhouse into the lake, and the woman took it upon herself to rescue it. After a short talk with the female it was found that she had consumed a bottle of brandy before her rescue attempt and her judgment was impaired. Thesing assisted her by pulling the outhouse out with a rope and the truck. The port-a-potty escaped unharmed, but the female needed a good shower.
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