Jean Brune of Grand Marais, who makes magnificent hats out of local fur-bearing animals, stopped by the Cook County News-Herald office this week with a trapping report. Things are going well, said Jean, who showed off the gray fox and fisher that she and her partner, Grant Smith, caught this week. There is a very limited season for fisher—only nine days, from November 27 to December 5—so Brune was very happy to trap one that can be made into a beautiful hat. The one she is wearing was made from a cross-fox, the result of breeding of a gray and a red fox. For information on trapping, contact the Grand Marais Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife office at (218) 387-3034.
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
(Tofte)
continued following up on investigations from the deer and bear season and met with the county attorney to discuss cases. Theofficerreceived complaints on small game hunters and answered numerous questions about trapping.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
checked trappers and trap sets opening weekend of fisher and pine marten season and hunters on muzzleloader opener. Snow has arrived, although trails are not open yet due to downed trees and unfrozen swamps, streams, and lakes. At least one report of an anxious angler has been heard, but ice conditions are still thin at best. The officer also wants to remind snowmobilers that the section of trail connecting the Gunflint system to Grand Portage is now Grant-In-Aid and requires a trail sticker.
CO Adam Block (Prior Lake)
assisted Bloomington Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a complaint of a bow hunter, hunting in a closed portion of the refuge and within the City of Bloomington. The hunter was located along with a deer, resulting in the seizure of the deer and his bow.
CO Block also met with an individual regarding property retrieval. The individual was so excited about getting his property back he forgot that his driver’s license had been revoked by the state.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz
(Thief River Falls)
continued an investigation regarding a black bear taken out of season and checked muzzleloader hunters in the area. He also responded to a call of an injured cow moose where the hunter believed it to be hurt to the point it had to be put down. After tracking the animal in the snow for over half of a mile without seeing or hearing it ahead of him, Woinarowicz determined it to be healthy enough to live another day.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham)
reports some smaller lakes are frozen and anglers are venturing out on foot. Larger lakes are still open. Ice thickness varies greatly, and extreme caution should be used if going on to the ice. A call of a large fish house going through the ice is being investigated.
CO Gary Sommers (Walker)
handled a trespass complaint in the Park Rapids station in which a person called reporting someone had shot a doe on the land he was leasing. The investigation revealed that the deer was shot on public land and wandered onto the leased land where it died. Unfortunately, there was no effort by the shooter to follow up and determine if the deer had actually been hit. It appeared that the deer was shot from the road and there were no tracks in the snow to indicate the shooter looked for the deer. At least the deer was found soon enough, so it did not go to waste.
Also, Sommers, while monitoring deer hunting activity, encountered a truck stopped in the middle of the road. As he observed, a gun barrel came out the driver’s window and the person shot. The subsequent investigation revealed that the individual was using a rifle on the opening day of muzzleloader season and the person had no hunting license. The firearm and deer were seized and multiple charges are pending.
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