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 Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais)
checked a couple of gentlemen heading out lake trout fishing. The CO informed them that lake trout season closed the day before. He ran into some moose hunters that were upset about the number of people in the BWCA. He advised them to go more than one lake in. TheCO also assisted the Forest Service with some moose hunters who set up their camp the weekend before and went home so that they could save it for later. Another moose hunting party was not too happy with this. Thebig bulls are on the move.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
spent time checking waterfowl and moose hunters on the opener. Theofficer investigated a TIP complaint in the BWCAW with a Forest Service LEO. Wahlstrom assisted the State Patrol with a DWI arrest and handled numerous nuisance animal calls.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
saw an uptick in the number of folks road hunting for grouse. Leaf lookers were also plentiful as leaves moved past peak and began dropping. Many visitors also felt the need to drop trash along roads and trails. Officer Manning worked the moose hunt opener, which was off to a slow start. Anglers trying to beat the end of the fall pink salmon spawning run were also checked.
CO Troy Richards (Fergus Falls)
responded to an incident of a person being shot after being mistaken for a turkey. The persons involved in the incident were acquainted and hunting together. Luckily, the victim survived and is expected to be all right. Richards also assisted CO Paul Nelson with a complaint of two trumpeter swans being shot. Both birds were recovered and charges are pending. Both cases are prime examples of people not identifying their target prior to squeezing the trigger.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin)
found a hunter afterthe public’s waterfowl who was found to be in violation of eight laws. He questioned the officer as to why he
was on private property.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing)
reported that early shooting on opening day was a concern. One hunter didn’t look at his watch and two other hunters didn’t have a watch and opened 20 minutes early. Two remote area duck hunters tallied violations to include over limit, early shooting, unplugged gun, toxic shot, no PFDs and blazed a new trail on state land.
Water Resources Enforcement Officer Mike Scott
assisted local officers with a call where a deer was found to have fallen between large rocks on the McQuade Safe Harbor wall. The deer was located by a couple out enjoying the day. Officers were able to capture the deer with the aid of catch poles and remove the deer from its perilous location and carry it to a location away from the lake where the deer was placed in a safe location to recover. The deer, after resting for some time, was seen by officers heading into the woods away from Lake Superior.
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