District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2021-11-16
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked deer hunters throughout Roseau, Marshall, Kittson and Lake of the Woods counties. The weather definitely affected hunter success, but a number of successful hunters were observed late during the second weekend of the season. Enforcement action was taken for hunters transporting loaded firearms, failing to register deer before processing them and leaving camping equipment unattended for a week in a wildlife management area.
CO Corey Sura (Baudette East) continued to work the firearms deer season. Complaints and violations handled include transporting loaded firearms in motor vehicles, possessing a small amount of marijuana, hunting in a state park without the required permit, shooting from a public roadway and a deer overlimit. Sura also took a call in which a deceased snowy owl was located at a person?s farm. The owl will be given to the Section of Wildlife to use for education.
CO Ryan Brown (Karlstad) spent most of his time on big-game enforcement throughout the week. Hunters report with the snowstorm and temperature change, the deer were moving a lot more but visibility was just too poor. Brown also responded to a hunter with an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound over the weekend. That day the hunter learned trigger discipline and, thankfully, only needed a few stitches.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) monitored activity during the second weekend of the firearms deer season. He responded to complaints of a possible sick deer, shooting from the roadway at big game, and trespass. Enforcement action was taken for tagging buck deer with a bonus tag, transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, unlawful party hunting and lending/borrowing a big-game license.
CO Tony Elwell (Thief River Falls East) worked firearms deer hunting this week. Elwell continues to field trespassing complaints and TIP calls dealing with big-game violations observed by other hunters. Enforcement action is pending for various big-game violations.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck South) reports working deer-hunting activity throughout this past week. The cooler weather and snow resulted in better success by hunters as the season progressed. Time was spent monitoring trapping activity and assisting the Beltrami County Sheriff?s Office locating a lost hunter. Violations encountered and addressed included transporting loaded firearms in motor vehicles, failure to validate deer license site tags and hunting license violations.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Blackduck North) reports deer-hunting success seems to be weather-dependent. Some hunters have had luck with harvesting their deer, but most have told Prachar the deer seem to be most active after dark. Enforcement action was taken for numerous transporting loaded firearms violations, hunting deer over bait and no license in possession.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2021-11-16
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports working deer-hunting enforcement throughout the week. Time was also spent following up on a bear-hunting related case. Various deer-hunting related violations were encountered.
CO Tim Gray (Bagley) took normal trespass, baiting and road-hunting complaints during the latter part of the 200 Series firearms deer season.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji #1) continued working firearms deer season activity. Several TIP complaints were followed up on. Vollbrecht and CO Regas responded to a call of a missing hunter. They were able to locate the individual and get him back to his hunting group.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports weather changed drastically during the latter half of the rifle deer season with strong winds, colder weather, and snow. Hunters still braved the weather but the numbers of deer they saw dropped. TIP calls of trespass, possible hunting while intoxicated, and hunting from the roadway were investigated. Enforcement action was taken for failure to validate a deer tag, no blaze clothing and trapping without a trapping license.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week checking deer hunters. Success in the area varied from camp to camp, but most hunters were satisfied by the end of the season. There were also quite a few waterfowl hunters who were excited to see a big push of birds move into the area. Swedberg worked several TIP complaints throughout the week involving trespassing, shooting from the roadway, and overlimits of deer. Several cases are pending further investigation.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) investigated reports of an overlimit of bucks, lending/borrowing licenses, and late shooting. Violations of untagged, unregistered deer, use of radio equipment to take deer and hunting with an invalid license were also handled in the field.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the week working small-game, waterfowl and deer-hunting enforcement. The firearms deer-hunting season ended with what appeared to be low hunter participation and low hunter success. Time was also spent assisting South Dakota game wardens on an investigation.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) worked the firearms deer season. Complaints of shinning, deer shot on private property, suspicious vehicle activity, and untagged deer were received. WMAs and WPAs were patrolled. ATV activity checks were performed.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week checking deer- and waterfowl-hunting activity in the Pelican Rapids station. Weather fronts that hindered deer movement brought thousands of waterfowl to area lakes and sloughs and those chasing them found good hunting. Fewer deer hunters were observed hunting this week compared to previous years and the weather likely hindered interest. It appears that success was good overall and several dandy bucks were taken by hunters. Calls from the public included various deer-hunting TIP reports and complaints. The most common complaint was trail camera theft or tampering. One incident investigated involved a parent illegally purchasing a deer license for a 9-year-old. The parent felt the youngster was capable and responsible enough to start hunting, but hunters must be 10 years old before they can purchase a license. Enforcement action was taken for deer registration and site tag validation violations, allowing a juvenile to violate big-game laws, agricultural trespass with snowmobiles, unregistered snowmobiles, failure to transfer title, and no snowmobile safety training.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2021-11-16
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) worked a busy deer season week with several contacts made in the field. Plautz assisted the sheriff?s office with an attempt to locate a wanted felon, followed up on possibly baited areas, and handled trespass calls. TIP calls were handled and illegal activity on area WMAs was taken care of.
CO Andrew Goodman (Elbow Lake) spent the week checking deer, pheasant and waterfowl hunters. Success for all game appeared limited with multiple weather fronts moving through the area and reduced hunter numbers. Goodman recovered a deer suspected to be poached in northwestern Grant County. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to use one of the TIP reporting options. More information about TIP reporting is available on the DNR website. Enforcement action for the week included failure to register big game and various ATV and hunting license violations.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked deer hunters and ATV riders. Several trespassing complaints were received but could not be prosecuted due to the property not being properly posted. Road hunting and open intoxicants were found with the arrival of cold weather.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) spent most the week patrolling deer hunters and surrounding activity. A midweek change to snowy weather made hunting feel a lot more like normal compared to the warm opening weekend weather. Numerous positive contacts were made with hunters of all ages, but some ended with citations being issued. Using invalid bonus permits, failing to register deer and transporting loaded firearms were some of the enforcement contacts made.
CO Hanna Wood (Wheaton) assisted this week with the TIP line and took calls from people with questions about the deer season. Minnow permits were also issued.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working deer, waterfowl, small-game, and recreational activity. Enforcement action taken included unlawful party hunting, failure to register deer, possession of toxic shot on federal land, no blaze orange during the firearms season, assisting in taking deer without a license, and possession of an open bottle in a motor vehicle.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports enforcement efforts for the week were concentrated on checking deer hunters, waterfowl hunters, and pheasant hunters. Additional time was spent following up on complaints involving shooting from the road, trespass, and littering.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2021-11-16
CO Jacque Hughes (Longville) checked deer-hunting activity. She also investigated multiple public land-related complaints.
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) worked waterfowl and deer hunters throughout the past week. Hunters reported mixed success in the snowy conditions. Enforcement action was taken for numerous waterfowl and big-game violations.
CO Nick Baum (Park Rapids) patrolled the area during the busy firearms deer season. Baum received some helpful TIP complaints and continues to encourage people to submit information using the TIP line. Baum took enforcement action on various violations ranging from failure to display ATV registration, failure to validate a deer tag, untagged deer, feeding ban violation, possession of a small amount of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Baum was dispatched to the area of a report of someone who shot and killed a deer from a motor vehicle. The individuals who called in this violation were able to gather information about the vehicle, which allowed Hubbard County deputies to stop the vehicle. Baum is grateful for the individuals who were willing to call this illegal activity in, which resulted in enforcement action taken for shooting from a motor vehicle, taking a big-game animal from the public road right-of-way, untagged deer, and failure to validate a deer tag.
CO Adam Seifermann (Staples) reports a busy firearms deer season with many hunters successfully harvesting deer. Calls from public consisted of reports of late night shooting, trespassing, road hunting and shooting from the roadway. Enforcement action consisted of untagged deer, failure to validate site tags, lending/borrowing licenses, taking/attempting to take a big-game overlimit, driving after suspension, operating an ATV during closed hours, abandoned property in WMAs, illegal possession of a car-killed deer, assisting with a walleye overlimit, and no license in possession. He would like to remind hunters to register their deer as required (see Page 63 in the regulations book).
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) worked a busy second week of the deer season. Success improved over the second week for hunters with the cooler weather and snow. Enforcement action was taken for transporting a loaded firearm, untagged big-game animal, hunting in a game refuge, hunting deer with the aid of bait, and numerous other deer-hunting related violations.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) checked several deer hunters and a few duck hunters. Deer hunters reported seeing few deer as the hunting remained slow. Mathy also worked on winterizing watercraft. Enforcement action was taken for various deer-hunting violations.
CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) continued to work the firearms deer season and saw mixed success across the station. The first measurable snow fell on the area over the weekend, and a few snowmobiles were seen already. It?s a good reminder to check registration on machines prior to receiving ridable snow. Enforcement action taken during the week was primarily related to big-game violations. Time was also spent on a public waters violation and OHV enforcement.
CO Calie Kunst (Remer) continued to spend time checking deer and waterfowl hunters during the week. Enforcement action was taken for various violations. Numerous TIP calls were also received from the public in regards to big-game-hunting violations.
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