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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) reports taking numerous questions regarding the current fire ban, a result of continued warm and very dry conditions. One motorist was spotted stopped in the middle of the Gunflint Trail with a door flung open, the result of seeing a beaver walking up the road. Fewer than five minutes later, the same driver was found slowly chasing said beaver up the road (presumably “helping” it), nearly causing a vehicle accident. Manning responded to reports of fireworks, took calls on illegal camping and visitors leaving bagged dog waste for someone else to dispose of, and checked boaters for invasive species.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports spending the week in the BWCA with fellow officers patrolling for backcountry anglers. The fishing was extremely slow, with pike dominating the bag. A few lake trout were caught but anglers had to focus their time in deep water. Citations were issued for no fishing license and for possession of a controlled substance. PFD and registration compliance was perfect. Quite a few anglers left their licenses in their vehicles. Please remember to add a fishing license to the list of essential items to bring into the backcountry.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) investigated an OHM crash in Babbitt, took nuisance bear calls, started an investigation into work on a shoreline of a local lake, assisted on a security detail, provided assistance with a local fire, and spent time patrolling for resource activity. Enforcement action included allowing illegal juvenile OHM operation, operating ATVs in a state park, failure to transfer ATV ownership, unlawfully posting public land, and passing in a no-passing zone.
CO Vinny Brown (Northome) enforced ATV, boating, and angling activities. Enforcement action was taken for angling license violations, boat safety violations, and ATV equipment and registration violations. A call of a suspicious activity was taken and calls of orphaned raccoons were handled. Time was also spent following up on ongoing cases.
CO Taylor Hochstein (Hill City) responded to an ATV accident in which the passenger and the ATV rolled down a steep embankment of an old railroad grade. Thankfully, the passenger didn’t sustain serious injury, but she did injure her leg and couldn’t climb the bank. An anchor line and a water rescue throw bag assisted in the efforts to stabilize the patient and pull her approximately 30 feet out of the ravine.
CO Kipp Duncan (Duluth East) worked area lakes for fishing and boating enforcement. Warm weather had public accesses full of trailers and boat traffic was busy. Many boaters were talked with about PFDs and watercraft capacity. Inland activity involved ATV activity and assisting local law enforcement when available. A possible wolf depredation was investigated and advice on living with bears were discussed with a few callers. Duncan was also a guest speaker at a neighborhood youth gathering.
CO Dan Starr (Onamia) worked ATV and fishing activities and assisted local law enforcement. A case of a 14-year-old juvenile operating a 1000 CC machine on a busy county highway was investigated. The youth had no helmet, ran a stop sign across a state highway, no registration was displayed, and they were operating faster than reasonable. Starr took a call from a college student moving back to a second-story apartment. When a storage bag containing floor rugs was opened, a stowaway possum popped out and made a ruckus. Luckily, the transient marsupial was captured and released unharmed.
CO Arnaud Kpachavi (Mound) focused on angling and ATV activities during the week. He worked a concert on Prior Lake with the Scott County Sheriff ’s Office. He worked with COs Birdsall and Grewe to successfully apprehend a person with felony warrants who fled an angling check on foot into the woods. Enforcement action was taken for ATV, angling, and parking violations.
CO Brittany Hauser (Red Wing) spent the week checking area anglers and boating activity. Time was also spent following up on various public waters violations and checking activity on area horse trails. Riders are reminded to stay on marked and maintained trails only and that each rider is required to have their trail pass in possession. Enforcement action was taken for no horse pass, no horse pass in possession and failing to have a life-saving device on board watercraft.
CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) worked a four-officer BWCA detail out of the Gunflint Trail on the north shore. Activity was fair to good but fishing was slow. One angler had a large lake trout on the line, but it jumped and hit the canoe. The fish then came loose and slowly swam away. Violations encountered were no angling license and other BWCA violations.
CO Pilot Charles Scott (Grand Rapids) flew Lake Vermilion creel flights. He flew sketch mapping flights over the central part of the state. He attended to scheduling of upcoming mapping flights and had equipment maintenance completed.
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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