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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) assisted Honor Guard members from around the state with the line-ofduty death funeral service for Grand Rapids Meds-1 Paramedic Troy Boettcher and Deerwood Police Officer Charlie Banks. She also checked anglers and ATV operators and took calls related to nuisance bears and beavers. Bears continue to frequent dumpsters, bird feeders and any place they can find a free meal. Manning responded to a report of a dead bald eagle. It turned out to be a less majestic turkey vulture.
CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) responded to a home in the Ely area after receiving a report of a nuisance bear. He found, after speaking to the homeowner, that the bear had entered a kitchen window while the residents were in the home. They were able to get out of the house safely and call for help. After the bear had exited the house, it showed no fear of them or vehicles. The homeowner was found to have no bear attractants on his property and no explanation for the bear’s boldness. Please avoid feeding bears, as they are very well adapted at finding wild food. Bears can travel great distances and the less fear a bear has of humans the greater the chances of a negative encounter.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd East) patrolled area lakes for activity and received calls about car-injured bears and a fawn stuck in the mud.
CO Chris Tetrault (Maplewood) received various wildlife-related calls about deer and other animals. One of the calls was in regards to a person in possession of a crow. The party was not permitted to have the crow and was attempting to rehab it for a later release. The crow was seized and brought to a proper animal rehabilitation center.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week patrolling area lakes checking anglers and boaters. Swedberg arrested one boater for boating while intoxicated. The boater was operating a boat with too many passengers; passengers were riding on the gunwales. Finding a sober ride is not limited to just motor vehicles and it is important to follow all boating safety laws. Swedberg also assisted the county with an ATV crash, a search warrant, and several other calls for service.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) fielded calls of newborn animals and birds left on their own and the callers concerned for their wellbeing. The act of picking up these creatures, thinking you are going to save them, is actually more of a hindrance than help. Nuisance-animal complaints continue to be called in. Anglers and boaters were contacted with improved fishing reports heard and various boating and fishing violations addressed.
CO Tony Elwell (Thief River Falls East) continued to monitor angling and boating activity. He was called to locate two individuals who were stranded after attempting to jog from the Fourtown area to Waskish through the Beltrami Island State Forest on a multi-day journey that started in Ponemah the day before. They were dehydrated and cramping when they decided to call for help. After a two-hour ATV journey through boggy terrain, Elwell found the individuals and brought them safely back to the highway. Enforcement action was taken for angling license and ATV-related violations this week.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) spent some time on the water this week. Busy lakes resulted in high traffic at boat accesses and launches. Several anglers were cited for no fishing license and another for using too many lines. Several Personal Water Craft were stopped for operating too late in the evening, and a few after-dark anglers were reminded to turn on their anchor lights, even though they might attract a few bugs. A report was taken of a lakeshore property owner cutting and clearing out live hard-stem bulrush in front of their shoreline. After investigating, Lawler determined it was a lake service provider that was hired who did the removal, not fully understanding what they’d done. A citation was issued.
CO Kevin Prodzinski (Wabasha) reports working fishing and boating enforcement on the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin. He also worked with the county attorney’s office to resolve past cases. Fishing continues to be good on the river and the big lake with walleyes leading the way. Northern pike, bass, crappies, catfish and sunfish were also found in the bag. Finally, an individual was contacted and enforcement action was taken after he unlawfully took and then possessed a lake sturgeon below Lock and Dam 4 on the Mississippi River.
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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