Conservation officers' tales - October 2005

[Dave]

NO LICENSE, NO PLUG, NO STAMP = NO GEESE

CO Travis Muyres (Ham Lake) checked a group that was lucky enough to take six geese from one flock and found four of them had leg bands. Unfortunately one hunter had no license, two had no plug and two had no waterfowl stamps. All six geese were confiscated.

HELP US OUT, OFFICER

CO Jim Tischler (Cuyuna State Recreation Area) reported vandals cut the chain on the gate of the Portsmouth Campground and then proceeded to use their own lock to lock the gate shut. Campers who were then trapped inside the campground called Officer Tischler for help.

WEE, WEE, WEE ALL THE WAY HOME?

CO Mitch Sladek (Big Lake) received a call from a person that had lost her pot-bellied pig in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. She stopped the car to let the little pig out to go to the bathroom and it took off running into the woods, never to be seen again.

NETTING CRIMINALS

Officer Tim Collette (Cass Lake) responded to more calls of illegal gill nets on Cass Lake and Winnie and found another pile of fish dumped in the woods. One of the nets had approximately 50 dead and rotting fish in it. In with the many northerns, sunfish, crappie and tulibees were several large walleyes, with some in the 7-to 8-pound range.

MAKING UP THE RULES AS HE GOES ALONG

CO Colleen Adam (OHV Recreation Officer-Park Rapids) came upon a large group of ATVs that had stopped to challenge their machines on a sand hill. She encountered one individual who had just rolled his machine. While he was brushing off the sand the officer inquired about his lack of registration. His answer made her laugh: "I didn't need it in 1995 when I bought it new, why do I need it now?"

VIOLATION AFTER FORE

CO Nikki Shoutz (Pine River) observed a golf cart with a male operator on the far shoulder of the road after 10 p.m. Shoutz stopped to see if he was ok and contacted Crosslake Police to assist with what was a felony theft in progress. An 18-year-old man had just stolen a golf cart from a nearby golf course!

MOTORIZED MAYHEM

CO Dustie Heaton (Isle) checked ATV operators riding on the shoulder of the road. Their excuse was that one of the operators had hit his head on a tree overhanging the trail. They needed to ride where it was smoother going because his head hurt. Just another good reason to wear a helmet! Heaton saw her first-ever motorized couch. The owner had mounted a couch to the frame of an old riding lawn mower. He was riding the couch to his mailbox.

DOG RESCUE IN NEW ORLEANS

CO Neil Henriksen (Benson) was on the DNR Enforcement team sent to New Orleans on hurricane duty. Henriksen, along with a paramedic from California, were able to rescue a family dog out of the attic of a flooded home. The owners had left a note and their cell phone number posted on the front door so that the dog could be returned to them.

YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SHOOTING AT WHAT?

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) reported a goose hunter with seven violations including taking ducks out of season, hunting with an unplugged shotgun, another minor hunting violation, hunting in a prohibited area (bike trail) and three ATV violations. The hunter thought the blue-winged teal he was shooting were giant Canada geese. He was given a lesson in bird identification and cited, while the owner of the ATV was cited for a registration violation.

GOING POSTAL

CO Paul Nelson (Elbow Lake) investigated a case where two arrows were shot at the post office in Dalton. One arrow was stuck in the outside wall and the other was stuck in the entry to the building.

ALL IN A DAYS WORK

CO Dan Starr (Tower) reported that a fisherman quickly threw back a walleye he just caught when the officer approached. The angler told the officer he did not want a heavier fine for keeping a fish without a license. A woman angler tried to evade Starr but was later found and issued a citation for no license. He reported responding to a car-killed bear that was more than 400 pounds and 7 feet from nose to tail.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED

CO Luke Croatt (Wealthwood) was assisting CO Brent Speldrich (McGregor) when a man driving an ATV stopped to ask if the uniformed officers were hunting ducks. Croatt responded the season was not open. Croatt asked if the man was hunting bear and he said yes. After identifying themselves as conservation officers, Speldrich asked the man if the gun in the case was unloaded to which the man replied, "I don't think so." The man received a ticket and said, "I guess I shouldn't have stopped."

GO-CART DWI

Officers Speldrich, Croatt and Mlynar observed a go-cart traveling on State Highway 169. The driver was stopped and found to be under the influence of alcohol. The driver was subsequently arrested for DWI and his hi-performance 6.5 hp go-cart was forfeited. The driver's license was already canceled for prior alcohol related driving offenses.

HE JUST COULDN'T STOP HIMSELF

Officer Larry Francis (Remer) discovered one adult who had taken three youths out on for the youth waterfowl opener. The adult just couldn't stop himself from shooting at ducks. The officer also discovered the adult had let the youths shoot a red wing black bird. Enforcement action was taken.

DENTS AND SCRATCHES

CO Mitch Boyum (Rochester) received a call of trucks illegally operating in a wildlife management area. The operators were found and cited. One subject said that he does not plan on coming back as his truck had many dents and scratches from trees.