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
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
spent the week monitoring bear bait activity. Theofficerattended a district meeting in Two Harbors. Reports of an injured loon and deer were addressed, and nuisance bear complaints were handled. Time was also spent working invasive species and checking on burning of prohibited material complaints.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
talked to anglers and boaters at Lake Superior accesses about invasive species and required safety equipment; she found few fish and few required visual distress signals. While working a TIP complaint, the officer noted that compliance with required navigational lighting at sunset was lacking — not one boat observed had its lights on within half an hour of sunset. Manning also checked bear bait stations, answered calls about nuisance bears and attended a district meeting and training.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing)
observed two anglers committing several violations from a fishing pier. One chose to use two lines and then used a three-inch largemouth bass for bait, freshly caught by his partner who had no fishing license (perch had also been used for bait). After the bass was hooked up on the line, the marijuana pipe came out and was passed around. When the officer approached, the owner tossed the lit pipe in the lake. The unlicensed angler had driven there with a canceled driver’s license as well. Three days later, a different angler was ticketed for using perch for bait in the very same spot.
CO Matt Miller (Lake Superior Unit)
checked anglers and boaters on Lake Superior. Humid air and cold water temps created quite a fog bank during a busy boating and angling weekend. Emergency calls during the week again involved non-motorized watercraft being ignorant of water conditions, safety precautions, and their lack of paddling experience. Thankfully, all ended positively for the people in the water.
One early morning, while checking anglers in a heavy fog bank several miles from shore, the officer noticed a small brown bat flying alongside the patrol boat. The bat stayed with the officer for several minutes, apparently mistaking the boat for the nearest piece of land. After a while, the bat took off in a direction he must have thought involved dry ground, even though it took a compass and a GPS for the officer to remain oriented. Assistance was given to the USCG with the location of a disoriented boater who left to fish in the fog without any navigational tools, maps, or compass.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany)
worked anglers and boaters. A call was investigated where a person on a pontoon was shooting at a loon. Theboat was found with a gun on board. Thesuspect stated that he was shooting at 20-ounce pop bottles. No dead or injured loon was found.
CO Dan Malinowski (Fosston)
received a number of nuisance bear complaints. A dead bald eagle was sent to the Colorado Repository. A wetland draining complaint turned out to be a failed beaver dam.
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