Conservation Officer Tales

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 working in the BWCAW checking anglers. The walleyes have slowed but the lake trout have picked up. Many anglers were happy with the abundance of smallmouth bass hitting. Enforcement action was taken for angling, watercraft and OHM violations.

CO Mary Manning (Hovland) handled Academy paperwork and office tasks. Manning took a call about a forest road that was flagged and closed, preventing access to a couple lakes and campgrounds. Road crews continue to make repairs but some roads are still impassable and visitors should check with local DNR Forestry or National Forest staff to confirm the status of backroads before traveling into the north woods. Manning also took calls about an injured doe, a couple nuisance bears in the BWCA, nuisance beavers and moose sightings.

CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports seeing another uptick in the walleye and rainbow trout bite throughout the week after last week’s mayfly hatched slowed action. Limits of both were seen. Violations were almost nonexistent with a no license in possession documented. Hill also noticed more ATV traffic with a few stops made for a variety of violations. One operator was stopped and cited after Hill contacted them operating a class 1 ATV approximately 55 miles an hour in the lane of traffic on a state highway, without registration displayed, without ATV safety, but more seriously, they were driving with a revoked driver’s license. Time was spent at the Academy evaluating scenarios.

CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) prepared training for the ongoing Academy and spent time on the water. Enforcement action was taken for various fishing and boating violations. Even though bugs are bad, navigation lights are still required at sunset.