CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) checked anglers on area lakes. Time was spent patrolling snowmobile trails and completing online training.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled area snowmobile trails and lakes. One young rider contacted stated he knew his modified sled exhaust was illegal, but decided to ride it on the trails anyway. Manning also issued a possession permit for a road kill coyote. Enforcement action was taken for operating a snowmobile with excessive muffler noise, no fish shelter license, and angling without a license.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd East) was forwarded a call from the DNR Info Center regarding four dead gray squirrels that were found on a property. According to the reporting party, it seemed very unusual since they were intact, not bloody, and almost look like they fell from the trees and froze.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) checked a group of eight boys who were celebrating a birthday ice fishing. Mom, Dad, and younger brother were relegated to a separate shelter.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) made contact with three individuals blocking a public access road. The officer returned later, found where the car had been cleaned out, and saw that litter was left on the road. Four items had the driver’s name on them, which made it easy to finish up the case with a citation.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) assisted a local trapper with an incidental catch of a large, adult bobcat that had its rear leg caught in a snare. After a lot of patience, and careful use of a catch pole, the barely injured bobcat was successfully released. Another wild animal call that was taken involved a resident who returned home and found a woodchuck sitting on the bed. Live traps were used to remove the woodchuck.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) encountered an angler who left two rattle reels in the water while he went to get some gas for his fish house generator. Upon returning, Lawler was waiting to ask him about the fishing lines, which were illegally left in the water. Not surprisingly, a northern pike had swallowed one of the hooks very deep while he was gone, giving the CO and the violator an easy illustration as to why it’s illegal to leave lines unattended.
CO Nicholas Klehr (Litchfield) spent the week working ice fishermen. Some anglers were found using extra lines and questioned why it matters how many lines are down since they were not catching anything anyways. They were informed with enforcement action that the law is still the law and they can only use two lines while ice fishing no matter how the fish are biting.
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!
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