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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) checked bear hunters and followed up on big-game investigations. Time was spent checking anglers and ATV riders. Enforcement was taken for big-game and ATV violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) worked bear hunters and rechecked bait stations of successful hunters who are done. After some investigation, she located a hunter who had used entire beaver carcasses in a bait station that was registered to a young hunter who had already gotten his bear. A few unregistered bait stations were also investigated, along with some illegal ATV operation.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports bear hunters have all but left the area after an extremely busy first week of the season. Violations have been minimal since the first few days and Hill thanks the hunters for sticking to the regulation’s books. Speaking of regulations books, questions are starting to pour in about the upcoming white-tailed deer seasons. Now is a good time to get your questions answered, and Hill stresses that the majority of the questions cans be answered with just a few page flips. Hill started a background investigation for an applicant in the hiring process for the CO Prep program.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked Labor Day patrolling local ATV trails and complaint areas with
CO Larson. A couple citations were issued for allowing illegal youth operation of an ATV and operating on a closed trail. One individual was arrested for DWI on an ATV. Emergency vehicle operations course refresher was completed. Twenty youth were certified in firearms safety in Babbitt. Additional enforcement action was taken for fishing without a license and for speeding, after an individual passed the officer and continued at over 100 miles per hour.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany) worked anglers, boaters, waterfowl hunters and ATV activity. The weather was nice for Youth Waterfowl Weekend. All juveniles taking part in the hunt were shooting and most had ducks. The last day of the Minnesota State Fair was worked at the DNR information booth talking with people about questions and concerns involving the outdoors. A car-injured bald eagle was caught and transported to the Raptor Center for rehabilitation.
CO Tyler Ramaker (La Crescent) responded to several rattlesnake-related calls throughout the week. Ramaker presented at the National Wild Turkey Federation’s JAKES event in La Crescent where young hunters built on their outdoor skills and knowledge through hands-on opportunities. Ramaker was among several officers who responded to the Red Wing area to search for a drowning victim.
CO Alexander Birdsall (Waconia) spent most of the past week checking early goose hunters and teal hunters. While a group of hunters was being checked, a solo blue-winged teal landed in the hunter’s decoys and stayed the duration of the check. As soon as the check was complete the duck flew away as if it knew it was once again in danger.
CO Mike Krauel (Mora) spent the week checking goose hunters and anglers. Krauel also spent time on equipment maintenance. He also assisted local and state law enforcement with several different things, including a vehicle crash, a drug overdose victim, and the execution of a search warrant. Krauel also assisted with an ATV safety field day.
CO Ashley Whiteoak (Malmo) spent time patrolling for fishing, boating and ATV activity, as well as waterfowl and bear hunting. She also checked bear baits in area. Whiteoak followed up on a call in which a group of youth waterfowl hunters accidentally shot a cormorant. In that case, enforcement action was taken for allowing minors to hunt illegally/violate game laws, hunting waterfowl without a plug in a shotgun, taking a cormorant, and failure to have legal life-saving devices in a boat. She also assisted the Aitkin County Sheriff ’s Office with a medical and an ATV crash.
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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