Weekly Conservation Officer Report

[Lee Borgersen]

  ...Weekly Conservation Officer Report
 

Jun 24, 2017


  .....
Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending June 19, 2017. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

In the Baudette area, CO Eric Benjamin (Warroad N.) investigated an incident reported by a Border Patrol Officer concerning a fawn that was chased and killed by a dog. The dog’s owner was located and the matter was handled.

CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck S.) assisted the aviation section with a request from the FBI and Red Lake Tribal Law Enforcement for assistance searching for a possible drowning victim on Upper Red Lake.

CO Tim Gray (Bagley) received a complaint of a net being used at the Clearwater Lake Dam to net fish. It turned out several boys had found a piece of snow fence and decided to see what fish were caught in the spillway below the dam before throwing them back into the Clearwater River.

CO Chris Vinton checked on campers at Maplewood State Park after severe storms came through overnight, with damaging wind and lots of rain. The campers that Vinton spoke to rode out the storm with few problems, although the storm caused tree and sign damage at some public accesses and flipped over boats on lifts on some area lakes.

In the Fergus Falls area, CO Tricia Plautz spoke to an Amish community firearms safety class on rules and regulations and followed up on a call about an injured bald eagle.

CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) investigated three separate complaints of people shooting geese out of season; use of an Aqua Thruster to excavate the lake bottom; angler harassment; taking an otter out of season; grass clipping washing up on the shore of an area lake; and a dead animal that washed up on someone’s shoreline.

Poor weather limited recreational activity, CO Duke Broughten (Longville) reports. Anglers who dodged rain and thunderstorms reported poor success. Broughten investigated a report of a boat that washed up on another property owners’ shore, followed up on weed roller violations and assisted local law enforcement with locating a lost child.

In the Eveleth area, CO Marc Hopkins assisted county officials with a boat that had floated free. It was recovered and returned to its owner. A couple refused to have their boat inspected for AIS at a landing on Lake Vermilion. They were cited for refusing to submit to inspection. Hopkins and Sheriff’s officials conducted a search for two campers who were reported overdue. They were located at a remote campsite and were fine; it turns out there was a misunderstanding about the exact date of their return.

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) concluded a case of a PWC lift that had about 6,000 zebra mussels on it and had been transported from an infested metro area lake to a Hibbing area lake property. Luckily the lift had not made it into the water before this was discovered. Campers were evicted from a remote state forest campground and were cited for not paying for 13 days of camping fees.

CO Marty Stage (Ely) assisted the Sheriff’s Office with a call about someone in the BWCAW sending up flares to signal for an emergency after strong winds swept the area. He also assisted with another BWCAW search and rescue for paddlers who went through rapids, capsized and lost their canoe.

Patrolling one evening on Birch Lake, CO Anthony Bermel reports activity levels were surprisingly low, but the violation rate was 100 percent. The mosquito annoyance level was also very high.

In the Grand Rapids area, CO Mike Fairbanks and his K9 partner Si were asked to locate a set of keys thrown into the woods by a fleeing suspect. Si was able to find the keys in thick brush.

In the Duluth area, CO Scott Staples stopped a person who was found parked in the middle of the road, in possession of alcohol and under age 21. The man also had a loaded shotgun in the truck. When asked about the shotgun, he said he just left it there last fall and never took it out.

CO Sam Hunter (Park Rapids) did a site inspection of property where a bear got into a cattle pen, resulting in the death of a cow.

CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) worked a case of dogs chasing deer. The dogs showed up on the landowners’ game cameras. They were located and the owners were educated about keeping the dogs locked up when they are not home. Kuske also assisted the Sheriff’s Office with apprehension of three people in possession of a stolen car. The car was stolen in Brainerd, but the owner happened to see it drive past him in Little Falls. The owner followed the car and called police. Kuske detained the driver, then located two passengers who fled on foot.

In the Princeton area, CO Rick Reller handled several calls related to last weekend’s storms, which left several boats adrift on lakes and damaged boat lifts.

In the Rochester area, CO Brittany Hauser took a call about a mama mallard and her ducklings that were trying to cross Hwy. 61 in heavy traffic. Hauser, with help from CO Kylan Hill, rounded up the ducklings in a box and walked across Hwy. 71 with mama mallard following. The officers escorted the little family across a set of railroad tracks and another street before reuniting them at the river’s edge.