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 Mary Manning (Hovland) checked campers in state forest campgrounds and responded to a report of abandoned gear at a park campground. Manning checked anglers and followed up on reports of illegally taken brook trout. She also found an overlimit of lake trout. Grouse hunters checked had good success and compliance was generally good. Manning did take calls of hunters littering, trespassing and shooting toward cabins on posted property. ATV operators were also checked and compliance was generally good. One group of Class 2 ATV drivers received tickets and warnings from Manning, which they apparently didn’t heed as they were stopped again the following day and cited by a neighboring officer.

CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked the small-game opener with area officers. Time was spent checking small-game hunters and anglers on area lakes. Enforcement action was taken for hunting and ATV violations.

CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports contacting a lot of hunters during the small-game opener over the weekend. Compliance was fantastic, with the only violations being no license in possession and transporting a fully dressed bird. A lot of young-of-the-year birds were harvested and even quite a few spruce grouse. ATV riders were abundant, with numerous violations detected. One group was contacted on Friday by CO Mary Manning and enforcement action was taken. On Saturday, Hill contacted the same group of riders and all of them received additional citations for violations and one was even arrested for DUI. Continued investigation was done on a public waters violation. Hill also found a paddle boarder in possession of controlled substances after Hill observed their contraband on the dashboard of their truck in the parking lot.

CO Matt Miller (Silver Bay) checked bear and grouse hunters as fall began to arrive. A few salmon are showing up in the tributaries, and anglers are starting to target them. Assistance was given to state parks with camping in non-designated areas and illegal fires. Enforcement action was taken for ATV and state park violations.

CO Vinny Brown (Northome) worked the small-game opener and saw a decent number of grouse hunters in the woods. Most hunters reported seeing birds but say hunting is difficult with the ground foliage and leaves still on trees. Brown also spent time enforcing bear-hunting, ATV, fishing, and AIS laws. Enforcement action was taken for possession of an overlimit of walleyes, violating aquatic invasive species laws, transporting loaded firearms, and grouse hunting with no small-game license. An individual was caught in the act of dumping chicken carcasses on public land. The carcasses were picked up and disposed of properly by the individual.

CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked ATV and fishing activity. The small-game and archery deer seasons opened over the weekend, but overall less activity than expected was observed. In addition, time was spent training at Camp Ripley, presenting at a firearms safety class in Hibbing, and checking areas throughout the station known for illegal timber harvest.