MN Conservation Officer Tales - January

[Dave]

NOW THAT’S A BIG DEAL

A deer hunter told Conservation Officer (CO) Kipp Duncan of Duluth he killed three deer last fall. Not a big deal, considering hunters can shoot up to five deer in some areas. "Then the hunter said he killed all three with one shot," Duncan reported. "Now that's a big deal."

I’VE GOT YOUR PICTURE

CO Nikki Shoutz (Pine River) reported a hunter in the Pine River area discovered a surprise when he checked his trail camera: a photo of his neighbor trespassing on his property.

A BLACK EYE FOR HUNTING

CO Jeff Johanson (Osakis) investigated complaints of deer carcasses dumped along township roads. In one case, a large doe was found dumped along the road, field dressed with no meat taken off at all.

SENSELESS ACTS OF VANDELISM THAT COST EVERYONE

CO Colleen Adam (OHV Recreation Officer – Park Rapids) reported numerous newly erected road and trail signs destroyed by various caliber firearms. The signing process of the legislatively required forest reclassification is labor intensive and costly. Resigning costs all citizens of the state. If you see someone shooting at signs, note a vehicle description and call TIP.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO READ HUNTING HANDBOOK CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) found a muzzleloader hunter who had shot a deer. The problem was there is no open muzzleloader season in Cook County. Another example where reading the synopsis would have saved the hunter a lot of hassle and money.

DECOY FOUND IN PIKE’S BELLY

A spearer explained to CO Tony Arhart (Deer River) that a large northern pike had ripped his live decoy and the harness loose and swam away. Fortunately for him the 36-inch fish was greedy and was speared by his buddy from a neighboring shelter. The missing decoy and the hardware were found in the pike’s stomach.

VIOLATORS HELD BY LANDOWNER UNTIL OFFICER ARRIVES

CO Chris Howe (St. Peter) investigated a case where two individuals kayaked across the Minnesota River and attempted to take deer with a muzzleloader on private property in the East Minnesota River State Game Refuge. Both men committed multiple violations. They were apprehended by a landowner and held for law enforcement. The officer expressed his appreciation but suggested the landowner let law enforcement officers do it in the future.

TRAP BITES DOG OWNER

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reported dogs caught in traps were the call of the week. One person found the trap on his hand after letting his dog out. He had to drive home for help to get it off.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

CO Dustie Heaton (Willow River) received a call that approximately 70 geese were trapped in the ice on Sand Lake. It turned out that the geese were just fine and flew off when the reporting party approached them.

I HEAR YOU’RE LOOKING FOR ME

CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) received a TIP call of a deer shot from the roadway, after legal shooting hours, on agricultural private property. Fortunately the suspect vehicle (with fresh blood on it) was found nearby parked at a “local establishment.” As Kuske was parked down the street the suspect walked out, came over to her truck, knocked on the window and said, “I hear you’re looking for me.” The person had been deer hunting earlier with no success. They said they saw the deer in a farm field on their way home, stopped and shot it. The deer and muzzleloader were seized with citations issued.

EXPLAINING IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY TO SOMEONE WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER

CO Rob Haberman (St. Cloud) pulled over an ATV being operated in a careless manner along Highway 10. The ATV had an expired registration tag displayed. When asked why he had no current registration, the man stated the ATV was an uncle’s who was killed on the same ATV in an accident in 2005. Haberman explained safe operation is an important part of ATV riding. Law enforcement action was taken for the violations.

I’M BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT

CO Sarah Backer (Cambridge) received a complaint involving a bow hunter who was baiting and using artificial lights while sitting in a stand well after legal shooting hours. After observing the activity for about an hour, Backer made contact. The individual had a light affixed to the bow “so I can see where I am going and what I am looking at.”

NOT A VERY POSITIVE IMAGE FOR HUNTING

CO Joe Frear (Waseca) reported a group of hunters were shooting birds in the ditches of Highway 14 west of Waseca with cars passing by. The officer watched a goose land next to the road. The bird crossed the road with the hunters in hot pursuit. Not a very positive image for hunting.

A PINK SQUIRREL?

CO Thor Nelson (Bloomington) encountered a homeowner who was releasing a squirrel that was live trapped in a residence. What made this encounter unusual was that the squatter squirrel was painted pink so that it could be identified if it returned to the residence!

GOOSE DAMAGE

CO Mike Shelden (Alexandria) handled complaints of goose hunters shooting too close to houses. In one situation, a goose was shot and it fell into the side of a house damaging the vinyl siding.

GOOD LUCK WARDEN

CO Mike Lee (Isle) observed an individual take a nice 14-pound northern pike while spearing in a dark house. The individual’s comment to taking the nice fish was, “I guess when you see a game warden, it’s not all bad.”

PESKY MUSKET GETS SPEARED

CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) checked a spear house with a lot of blood by the door. The occupants stated they had not caught any fish. When asked what the blood was from they said they had just speared a pesky muskrat (which is illegal to do).

SPINNING YOUR WHEELS

CO Rob Haberman (St. Cloud) cited a man for careless operation of an ATV for riding 360s close to fellow fishermen. While Haberman was loading his truck at the public access, a companion of the individual cited asked how far away do you have to be to spin 360s. Haberman told the individual he couldn’t ride in that manner on any public land and frozen waters regardless of distance from people.

SPIKED BOARDS IN FIELD DRIVE

With the assistance of metro COs, CO Dan Book (Rushford) reported charges are pending on a person, who while trespassing, placed spiked boards in a field drive in an attempt to flatten the tires of the landowner’s vehicles.

LAKE BOTTOM DWELLING

CO Tim Collette (Longville) reported an angler had a bad day when his large sleeper house fell through the ice. He got it out, but totally demolished it in the process. When asked if any of the debris ended up in the lake, the owner assured the officer that none had. A look with an underwater camera proved differently. The man is now faced with having to remove a large amount of debris from the lake bottom as well.

HELP! THE EELPOUT GOT ME

CO Mike Lee (Isle) observed a man who was in the process of landing his first eelpout. When the individual went to grab hold of the fish, the eelpout began to wrap itself around his arm. Lee wrote, “Not knowing this would happen, the angler became very, well, let’s say excited, and was yelling for help from the other anglers who were with him. After a lot of commotion, the line was cut and the eelpout was removed from his arm, much to the relief of the individual.”

ANGLERS STUMBLE BACK TO UNHAPPY SPOUSES

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) dealt with three very intoxicated anglers who left fishing lines in the lake and walked to the next lake one-quarter mile away. When they returned, they had tallied six violations. In the time it took to issue the paperwork, they had downed another liter of tequila and stumbled back to unhappy spouses who were called to take them home.

AN OLD GAME WARDEN PROVIDES A LITTLE ENTERTAINMENT

CO Chris Johnson (Marine Unit) received a call on a Christmas Day from a family who found an injured eagle while walking in the woods. The eagle could not fly very well, but it could run just fine. The family enjoyed watching the old game warden chase the eagle through a black spruce swamp. The family eventually joined the chase helping the officer capture the bird before it was taken to a rehab center.

[findergameandfish]

I enjoyed this. Thanks

[ffjoef]

I enjoyed this also.. Thanks