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) patrolled snowmobile trails, checked anglers on the last couple days of winter trout season, and monitored fishing activity on border lakes where walleye season is still open. Lots of snow still in the woods. A few diehards still putting miles on the snowmobiles.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked anglers trying their luck through the ice and on Lake Superior. A few snowmobilers were also encountered. The grouse have been numerous this past week, a good sign for fall.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) checked anglers during the last few days of the trout season with some nice brookies in the bag. The officer handled nuisance animal complaints and continued to get equipment ready for possible flood duty.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) worked angling activity and a work detail on Vermilion Lake to deal with a crowd of ATV’s and snowmobilers that find snowmobile water skipping activity amusing. Officers dealt with a number of ATV and snowmobile violations. On a lake that is somewhat out of the way and hosts only a few anglers at a time, two anglers were cited for on over limit of crappies after concealing extra fish to avoid detection. The officer checked the same lake three days later and found an angler with a fish (largemouth bass) out of season.
CO Kipp Duncan (Duluth) reported that a family learned that they had been hosting four bears under their deck all winter. CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) cited an individual for having his young child ride on his ATV without a helmet. The individual also happened to be traveling down the tar section of a county road at a high rate of speed and had expired registration.
CO Gary Nordseth (Worthington) took enforcement action when an individual attempted to take a mini-van down a hiking path in an area state park and promptly buried the vehicle up to its frame in mud.
CO Ed Picht (Montevideo) has received multiple reports of individuals thrill killing animals. A caller reported hearing gunshots and seeing spot lights from a car by Benson. A State Patrol trooper was able to locate the vehicle resulting in four individuals being charged. A farm dog was shot near its home just north of Montevideo and a large tom turkey was shot and left near a driveway south of Holloway.
CO Eric Schettler (Fairmont) recounts that one angler found out the hard way that 12 inches of ice is not always the safest as he dropped his ATV into 15 feet of water.
CO Greg Abraham (New Ulm) assisted after two people decided to try canoeing the cold, flooded Minnesota River at New Ulm; the predictable result ensued with a rescue by the New Ulm Fire Dept. On another case this past week, an area man decided it would be fun to deliberately hit animals on the road with his vehicle, and then watch his three passengers finish them off with baseball bats. Among the decedents in this incident were a raccoon and a muskrat (both also taken out of season).
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