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 Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais)
reports nuisance bear activity was high. Bears are being reported in the city of Grand Marais. The CO advises to leave them alone. On the Gunflint Trail, three homes were broken into by bears. Two of those were occupied. Mosquito screens aren’t much for keeping the bears out. TheCO was bluff charged by a mother bear at a bait station and was stung by several bees at another. The forest is becoming very dry. Be careful with fires.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
checked bear bait stations and found garbage at a few. Manning also worked a BWCA boat and water detail with CO Wahlstrom and USFS officers. Manning worked a detail at the port of entry with US Fish and Wildlife officers. The officer took a report of an illegally taken small bear; on checking the remains it was found to be the hide of a domestic pig. Enforcement action was taken for fish overlimits, no canoe registration, and transporting fish without skin patch.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
focused enforcement action in the BWCAW with area officers during a work detail. Many groups were checked with a wide array of equipment. The most interesting piece of gear that was lugged across a portage was a large rock with a rope tied to it for an anchor to be used later in the trip. The officer checked bear bait stations, where prohibited material continues to be a problem. Wahlstrom followed up on burning complaints and past investigations. Enforcement action was taken for no watercraft registration and false application for a license.
CO Tim Collette (Cuyuna State Recreation Area)
received a call of a hawk that was trying to land on a person mowing his lawn. The caller said that the hawk kept trying to land on his shoulder, so he got a pair of gloves and the hawk then landed on his hand. He tried to get it to fly away, but it kept coming back and he was afraid it would try to land on one of his kids. After trying to figure out if it was a tame bird and finding no indications, the officer took it to a remote area where it flew away.
CO Randy Hanzal (Duluth)
investigated a large pile of ducks that was dumped alongside of a road. Also, a person shot and killed a bear after it reportedly charged the resident after he disturbed the bear feasting on his bird feeders.
Leave a Reply