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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) worked remote trout lakes and patroled snowmobile trails. He instructed a snowmobile safety field day in Grand Marais. Enforcement action was taken for snowmobile and angling violations.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports another busy snowmobile week in Cook County. No violations were seen. Hill took part in Exploratory Day for Cook County Middle School students. Hill watched a group of avid young anglers try their luck at catching rainbow trout on a local lake. Between snowball fights and hotdogs over the fire, the kiddos landed a few nice fish.
CO Pilot Jason Jensen (Brainerd) reports flying a wolf survey. During the survey flight, an unpermitted aeration system and illegal deer feeding area were discovered.
CO Nicholas Klehr (Litchfield) followed up on a shining complaint. Time was also spent on a complaint of deer stands left in a waterfowl production area, as well as ATV tracks going through the WPA. Other time was spent checking anglers during the week, along with ATV and snowmobile riders who were out on the ice. Klehr met one angler from the Keller Family Community Foundation who does an annual snowmobile association cancer ride. The angler told Klehr about one snowmobile he has that is currently in the snowmobile hall of fame. He rode the snowmobile for 99,956 miles in 356 days over six winters to raise awareness and raise funds for people and their families with cancer.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) spent time tracking down a sick moose in coordination with the Wildlife Section over the week. The event started with a complaint of a “stand-offish” moose challenging a vehicle while the driver was commuting during the early morning hours. A day later, Zavodnik received another complaint in the general vicinity of a logger returning to his personal truck in the afternoon, only to find it heavily damaged by a moose. Wildlife and a neighboring CO were able to locate the sick animal, euthanize it, and obtain samples for the Wildlife Health Program to study the cause of its abnormal behavior. Zavodnik also handled several nuisance-animal calls.
CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) reports speaking at a firearms safety class at the Winona Sportsman’s Club. Antler hunters have been out in force as conditions have been good and temperatures mild. Trout anglers have also had it good with the weather. Success has been good. Turkeys are starting to strut and gobble and questions about the upcoming season have come in.
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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