CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked boating and angling activity throughout the week. Time was spent checking ATV riders and patrolling the BWCA. Enforcement action was taken for boating, angling, unattended fires and storing equipment on state property.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) stopped an individual for going into oncoming traffic while she was texting. He also dealt with a dead loon that had fishing line wrapped around its beak so it couldn’t eat and retrieved a gillnet that had some rotten fish from Devil Track Lake.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) work a boat and water detail with area officers on Lake Vermilion. Manning also worked a damp Fourth of July holiday checking anglers and boaters on inland lakes. Calls were taken about nuisance beavers, nuisance bears, orphaned rabbits and possession of birds of prey.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) reports that when stopping a pontoon for too many passengers, the pontoon did a nose dive after the operator shifted into neutral. Parts of the pontoon up to the driver’s seat went under water. Officers safely transported several passengers to shore and picked up personal effects that were floating around on the lake. The operator was cited for several violations.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) was patrolling past one group of anglers fishing from a pontoon, when an adult was seen dropping her fishing rod and hustling to the opposite side of the pontoon in hopes of not getting caught fishing without a license.
CO Vang Lee (ELCOP) took a call in Edina regarding an aggressive hawk that attacked an individual.
CO Tom Hemker (Winona) observed a person leave several articles of trash on the river bank. Upon contact, the person told Hemker there needs to be signs and trash cans along the river. Hemker also checked a person fishing on the river on a boat with expired registration. The boat operator said he only uses the boat for duck hunting so he did not need to display registration.
CO Brittany Hauser (Red Wing) received a call regarding a young raccoon that had boarded a watercraft that was docked at a marina. The raccoon was making himself at home and taking a nap on the deck of the boat. The animal was successfully removed from the boat and placed in a cage for transportation.
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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