CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) checked whitefish netting activity, small-game hunters, remote designated trout lakes, and dealt with a waters complaint.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) answered numerous questions about nuisance beavers as well as the state park deer hunts in Cook County, particularly with regard to the use of bonus tags. She provided classroom instruction for an ATV safety class, seized an accidentally caught otter, attended a Use of Force planning meeting at Camp Ripley and checked ATV operators.
CO Sean Williams (Ely) investigated a TIP call in which a bowhunter had, after wounding a deer with an arrow, returned and shot the deer several times with a handgun. He interviewed the suspect who admitted shooting the deer with a firearm.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) investigated a deer-taken-out-of-season case. The deer was shot in the back yard with a rifle. He seized the deer and rifle used and now the “hunter” faces gross misdemeanor charges. A trespass on state-property case was concluded with an interview of the suspect who was caught on camera. A wolf incident was investigated, a deer stuck in the fence was removed, and a trap-tampering complaint was reported.
CO Angela Londgren (Cambridge) investigated a trespass complaint where a hunter was found hunting within close proximity to several hundred acres of a corn field, but brought a 50-pound bag of corn that he placed next to his blind. The hunter also had a flashlight mounted to his compound bow, which he explained was so he could find his way in and out to his blind.
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) and COC Jake Swedberg investigated reports of baited deer stands. These stands and the bait in front of them were photographed and documented. The owners can look forward to meeting the officers on opening morning. Two separate wetland cases were investigated. In one case, a landowner was making plans to build a house in a Type 7 tamarack swamp. First, they had to haul in 900 yards of fill. The COs and county officials advised it might not be such a good idea to try that.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) reports that an individual was apprehended for hunting deer over bait within the city limits of Ely, which is an area closed to hunting. The individual was set up within sight of houses and decided to sweeten the pot with an illegal bait block.
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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