11/09/09 Report (Dist. 15-18)

[Woody]

District 15 - Marshall area
11/8

CO Doug Lage (Marshall) reports that deer success was somewhat slow, however the complaints on deer hunters were not. One complaint was of several hunters in the field without blaze orange. A hunter had gathered others to help drag a buck from the woods, an unsafe practice and unlawful. A TIP report was taken on a person hunting deer without a license. Enforcement action was taken. Another report of someone hiding a deer was investigated. The deer was located along with the hunter whom had tagged the deer but had covered it with weeds to cool the body. Several other blaze orange requirements and license requirements were also dealt with.

CO Craig Miska (Ortonville) worked a busy firearms deer opener. Many hunters enjoyed warm and dry conditions. Success was varied. Most hunters agreed that the standing corn hampered the hunt. Many questions about the uncased gun law continue. Geese are starting to show up in the area. Compliance for the week was good.

CO Matt Loftness (Marshall) reports the firearms deer opener was a challenge with a lot of standing corn. Even with the tough conditions some nice deer were still harvested with most bucks ranging between 4-8 points. Very few does were harvested due to the new “Youth Antlerless Only” regulations in the area. TIP calls and other complaints dealing with trespassing, shooting from a roadway, shooting from a motor vehicle, chasing deer, and illegal tagging issues were handled. Pheasant hunters are having more success as the corn harvest continues.

CO Jim Robinson (Slayton) spent the week checking hunters and responding to complaints. Deer Opener was poor for most hunters due to deer staying in the standing corn until dark, at which time they started bolting in front of motorists. Pheasant and duck success is still low. More geese are showing up in the area. Several ATVs were seen violating county ordinances in Murray County. Enforcement action was taken for trespass, transport loaded firearms, driving on WMAs, fail to tag deer, operate ATV on roadway, and license/stamp/registration violations.

CO Gary Nordseth (Worthington) reports that opening weekend firearms deer season was slow due to warm temperatures and very little of the corn harvest complete. The officer responded to an unconfirmed cougar sighting where the witness reported seeing a cougar dragging a deer across a road and into a cornfield. The officer followed tracks into the cornfield and discovered the whitetail deer. The sighting is still being investigated.

Madison - vacant.

Redwood Falls - vacant.


District 16 - New Ulm area
11/8

CO Jim Steffen (Willmar) spent the week checking duck , pheasant and bow hunters. The weekend was spent checking deer hunters. The deer kill was spotty but he saw some nice bucks taken. The violation rate was about average with lots of hunters in the field.

CO Eric Schettler (Fairmont) monitored deer, waterfowl and small game hunting activity. Common violations were blaze orange requirements and the amount needed to be worn. Trespass issues were minimal. Warm weather pushed hunters who had taken deer to quickly register and process the deer.

CO Angela Graham (Hutchinson) checked numerous hunters on deer opener, but seen limited success. Small game hunters, anglers, waterfowl hunters, and traps were also checked. Enforcement action and calls were taken on operate unregistered ATV, fail to display/transfer, passenger without helmet, burning prohibited materials, trespassing, hunter harassment, and hunting on SNA.

CO Brett Oberg (Hutchinson) worked the firearms deer opener and observed very few deer harvested. CO Oberg also spent time checking waterfowl and pheasant hunters. Officer Oberg responded to calls of illegal stands, trespass and hunting without blaze orange. A pheasant was seized from hunters that decided it would be better hunting in the closed State Game Refuge. Enforcement action taken for hunt in a State Game Refuge, possess loaded firearm in a county park, and wanton waste of deer.

CO Wayne Hatlestad (Litchfield) checked waterfowl, pheasant, and small game hunting activity. Additional time was spent checking archery and firearms deer hunting activity. Hatlestad also checked trapping activity, assisted other agencies, and patrolled WMAs/WPAs.

CO Jeff Denz (Willmar) prepared for and worked the firearms deer opener. He investigated a variety of trespassing, road hunting and baiting complaints. Overall hunting pressure as well as deer harvest appeared down with a consistent theme of “too much corn.”

CO Mike Gruhlke (Jackson) completed his weekly radio program discussing topics including deer opener, area activity and FAS safety. He also visited the Southwest Star Concept High School Natural Resources class discussing the job of conservation officer and also talking about laws. Gruhlke reports that there is still a tremendous amount of corn in the fields hampering both pheasant hunting and deer hunting to some degree. He also reports that he has been working the fall walleye bite too. Enforcement action was taken for trespassing.

CO Greg Abraham (New Ulm) checked walleye anglers, a few waterfowl hunters, pheasant hunters, trappers, and deer hunters this past week. The firearms deer season opener was very slow in the agricultural areas, but some nice deer were taken in the Minnesota River valley.

Windom - vacant.


District 17 - Albert Lea area
11/8

CO Brent Ihnen (Waseca) spent the week preparing and working the opener of the 2009 firearms deer season. Contacts with several hunters were made with varied success. Fishermen and ATV operators were also checked with some local hot spots beginning to start producing nice size fish.

CO Corey Wiebusch (Mankato) reports hunters found mixed success this past weekend during the 2009 deer opener. Fishing activity in the area has improved with anglers picking up some nice fish. Enforcement activity included license, hunting deer over bait, ATV and fishing with extra lines.

CO Julie Siems (Faribault) did a snowmobile safety presentation, checked area for bait near deer stands. She checked deer hunters. Violations included taking big game without a license, hunting over bait, and shooting deer from roadway.

CO Phil George (Mantorville) checked deer hunters and handled complaints of trespass and hunting over bait. He took shining complaints and took enforcement action for shining, hunting over bait and trespass.

CO Chris Howe (St. Peter) spent most of the week in preparation for the firearms deer opener. Stands were removed from WMAs, baited sites were inspected. Hunter numbers seemed somewhat down from recent years. Waterfowl and pheasant hunting remained very slow.

CO Tom Hutchins (Albert Lea) reports working a busy deer opener this weekend. Many hunter contacts were made. Hunters reported having mixed success bagging deer. Time was also spent checking duck hunters, anglers, and trappers. Violations included unplugged gun, untagged traps, false application for a license, and various deer hunting related violations.

CO Bob Geving (Mankato) flew three flights searching for baiting activities. Geving worked the southern deer hunting opening weekend. Enforcement actions included failure to validate site tag and transporting untagged deer.

Spring Valley - vacant.


District 18 - Rochester area
11/8

CO Scott Fritz (LaCrescent) reports the deer take appeared to be down with many standing crops and warm weather as major factors. The duck hunting has been slow, while the sauger and walleye are still biting at the dam. Several shining details were worked as well. Violations included gross misdemeanor shining, trespass on agriculture, shoot from road, possess untagged deer and fail to validate deer tag.

CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) reports working the deer opener. Many hunters were out with the good weather. Success was limited due to the large standing cornfields and the warm weather. Violations encountered were hunting deer over bait, fail to validate site tag, no blaze orange and trespass. Trespassing was the most common complaint by far.

CO Joel Heyn (Plainview) worked mainly deer hunters during the week. Lots of people were out over the weekend and many deer were seen taken in the Whitewater valley. Heyn also made several contacts with people shining illegally.

CO Kevin Prodzinski (Zumbrota) reports being assisted by Colonel Jim Konrad, DNR Enforcement Division director, over the busy opening weekend of deer season. The officers had a variety of enforcement contacts including untagged and unregistered deer, trespass, drugs, and a shining stop to end the evening. Another investigation was completed with CO Quandt where several deer were seized.

CO Tom Hemker (Winona) reports a good start to the deer season. Many hunters out with only a few problems. Most of the problems and complaints were situations where there were not violations but conflict between people. He assisted Winona County Sheriff’s Office with an investigation where a deer slug went through the window of a home. Hemker also had a job shadow from a local high school and did a radio interview about the venison donation program.

CO Tyler Quandt (Red Wing) reports working a busy week of hunting and fishing activity. Opening weekend to the deer season was mostly uneventful. Large numbers of anglers were out on the river but the fall bite has slowed down a bit. A deer case was worked during the week where charges are pending and a couple of deer were seized.

CO Scott Moran (Wabasha) reports a busy opening weekend of the deer season. These were the most hunters seen in years. Many hunters that were hunting/camping on state forest land reported moving from other areas because of the numbers of hunters. Saturday’s harvest was a little slow with groups of 8-12 hunters averaging 1-2 deer. Some very nice deer were seen. Lots of hunters had questions regarding new laws. The usual violations/complaints of trespass and shoot for the road were encountered. Some baiting issues have started to show up also.

CO Dan McBroom (Rochester) spent the week on migratory waterfowl, small game, deer hunting, and ATV enforcement. The deer opener was met with great weather and some very nice deer were harvested. One male in his 50s harvested his first deer and was very happy. Goose hunting is picking up around the Rochester area with many new birds in the area and fields opening up every day. Violations included hunt from permanent stand in wildlife management area, hunt in a restricted area, allow unlicensed driver to operate ATV on roadway, and shining from motor vehicle.

Rochester #1 - vacant.