|
|
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 Mary Manning (Hovland) assisted with firearms and Taser training for new officers at the current CO Academy. She also took calls on a nuisance-beaver complaint and two road-killed moose on the Gunflint Trail.
CO Don Murray (Two Harbors) worked boating and angling activity this week. High winds over the weekend made for challenging conditions on the water but kept biting insects away. Nuisance-bear complaints are still being reported in the area. Being bear wise and removing any food and attractant is always the best course of action to deter unwanted bear activity.
CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports that ATV activity continued to be high over the week. Boating and angling activity was nearly nonexistent over the weekend with cool weather, strong winds and rain. There were several emergency calls in the BWCA as at least four canoes had capsized in the extreme wind.
CO Vinny Brown (Northome) patrolled area lakes checked anglers and boaters and responded to wildlife-related calls. A large Norway pine tree containing an eagle nest was downed in a storm, resulting in an eaglet becoming trapped and abandoned. The eaglet was freed from the branches it was trapped behind and was transported to a wildlife rehab facility. Enforcement action was taken this week for possession of fish within the protected slot, no fishing licenses in possession, possession of fully dressed walleye fillets, and possession of an overlimit of walleyes.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) reports that while checking anglers in Thief River Falls, he noted two juvenile females joy riding on a department store-type electric scooter. When they saw him, they jumped from the machine and started to walk away. Finding this odd, Woinarowicz pretended to leave the area and returned shortly to find them back on the machine. This time, they jumped from the scooter and hid in some trees. Woinarowicz contacted the hiding juveniles and learned they had stolen the scooter from a local grocery store. Local authorities were contacted and loss-prevention personnel arrived to retrieve the stolen scooter.
CO Trent Seamans (Big Lake) focused enforcement efforts on anglers and boaters. Additional time was spent patrolling state lands and presenting at an ATV safety class. Enforcement action for the week included fishing without a license, fishing with an extra line, operating a watercraft with expired registration, failing to have life jackets onboard a watercraft, and failing to pay for a campsite in a forest campground.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week following up with ongoing and new wetland and shoreline violations. As boaters prepare for the Fourth of July, Landmark would like to remind them to make sure they have enough life jackets onboard and a sober driver for the weekend.
Leave a Reply