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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 anglers on remote lakes in the BWCAW and patrolled snowmobile trails. Enforcement action was taken for snowmobile violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled area lakes and grant-in-aid snowmobile trails. Recent snowfall has improved trail conditions and groomers are playing catch-up. Snowfall has led to slush on many of the lakes and anglers and riders should be on the watch. Manning also handled calls on angling and a wolf in a coyote trap.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports beginning a background investigation this week.
CO Annette Kyllo (Rochester #1) spent the week checking ice anglers, following up on a litter complaint and dealing with several injured deer. In one instance, Kyllo was called to check on a deer that had been acting sick and died under the individual’s deck. When Kyllo went to examine it, the dead deer got up and ran away. The deer was able to be safely dispatched and it was determined it had likely been hit by a car, which explained its behavior. Kyllo also assisted with a snowmobile safety course in Kasson.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked a busy week of winter activity. Plenty of enforcement action to report, including shelter ID and tag violations, fishing without a license, fishing with an extra line, illegal-length northern pike, expired snowmobile registration, no non-resident trail pass, loud/altered snowmobile exhaust, and marijuana/drug paraphernalia.
CO Pilot Jason Jensen (Brainerd) reports flying wolf telemetry flights and assisting with positioning aircraft for the northeastern Minnesota moose survey.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked ice angling and pike spearing activity in the area over the past week, with success had by area anglers for both panfish and bigger gamefish. Enforcement action was taken for angling without a license, angling without a license in possession and having expired ATV registration. More and more full-sized vehicles are showing up on area lakes with the colder weather, but slush is present on almost all lakes so travel with care.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week checking anglers and patrolling for snowmobile violations. Ice conditions are slowly improving but offroad travel with vehicles is difficult and ice depth still varies significantly. Anglers are also encountering slush in areas and flooding when holes are drilled. Those fishing are finding a few fish, but success rates have declined significantly over the last week. While on patrol with CO Swedberg, the officers observed a snowmobile operator committing multiple violations, including failing to stop at intersections before eventually tipping the snowmobile over. The operator’s first words were an apology for drinking and they were subsequently arrested for DWI. Other enforcement action was taken for snowmobile-registration violations, failure to transfer snowmobile title, failure to register an ATV, and illegal snowmobile exhaust.
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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