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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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) spent time checking ATV riders, AIS and anglers. Remote trout lakes were worked and nuisance-animal calls were handled.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled area forests, campgrounds and boat accesses to check for fire-restriction compliance. She also took a nuisance-bear complaint and checked anglers, boaters and ATV operators. Manning attended the funeral for Montgomery Police Officer Bryan Tupy as part of the DNR Honor Guard.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports working in the BWCA the entire week. Heavy traffic was seen, but Hill is happy to report only a few no-license-in-possession violations were detected. The walleye woes are continuing for anglers as some intermittent 12- and 13-inch fish have been caught. Smallmouth bass continue to dominate the bag. Hill stopped a 13-year-old for riding a very long wheelie in the roadway on an ATV. Hill escorted the juvenile home and had a talk with mom. Assistance was also given to other local agencies.
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked anglers on Lake of the Woods and ATV riders around Warroad. Anglers had mixed results fishing for walleyes, and the operator of a boat was cited for having no life jackets in his boat for himself and his two children. Another boater was cited for not having children under the age of 10 wear their life jackets during particularly dangerous conditions on Lake of the Woods. Warnings were issued to the parents of juvenile ATV operators for allowing the illegal operation of an ATV by a juvenile.
CO Mike Fairbanks (Deer River) checked anglers, handled nuisance-animal complaints, monitored OHV activity and assisted the county. Fairbanks and his K9 partner Si also gave a demonstration at the Minnesota Trappers Association convention and assisted in apprehending a suspect in an ongoing investigation. Enforcement action was taken for license issues and illegal operation of OHVs by juveniles.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) handled several nuisance animal calls, including wolves harassing livestock, bobcats stalking chickens and bears damaging field corn. A trespassing call of bear hunters scouting for bear-bait sites was also handled. Some follow up work involving theft of timber from state forest land was completed.
CO Garrett Thomas (Eagan) spent time checking lake and river anglers. On one occasion, a group of three adult shore anglers was found to be almost 40 sunfish over their limit. One adult male then stated he thought his wife got double her limit because she was clearly pregnant. Thomas informed him that even if that was the case (it isn’t), they would still be 20 fish over their legal limit. The illegal fish were seized and the group was cited.
CO Chris Tetrault (Maplewood) returned from the fires up north earlier in the week. He followed up on emails and phone calls he missed while he was out of office. Anglers and boaters were checked on area lakes and rivers, with compliance being good. He checked a person who was angling without a license and had three outstanding arrest warrants. The person was taken to jail with assistance from the State Patrol.
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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