CO Ben Huener (Roseau) responded to a call about an injured bear. Upon Huener?s arrival, the bear was found to have been flooded out of its den, which was a culvert under a road. The bear was quite groggy but was completely healthy and moved on after waking up and getting its ?bearings.? A calf depredation was investigated and it was found to have been killed by wolves. Anglers were checked on Lake of the Woods. Enforcement action was taken for unregistered vehicles.
CO Corey Sura (Baudette East) checked anglers on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River and its tributaries. Enforcement action was taken for fishing with extra lines. Time was also spent on evidence management and equipment maintenance.
CO Ryan Brown (Karlstad) monitored snowmobile/ATV activity and spent time following up on ongoing cases.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) taught the law and ethics portion of the firearms safety class in Thief River Falls and worked an angling enforcement detail on Lake of the Woods. Fishing success was marginal for pike and very slow for walleyes. Enforcement action for the week included litter, possessing dressed fillets on a special regulations water and ATV/snowmobile registration violations.
CO Tony Elwell (Thief River Falls East) monitored ATV activity and worked on upcoming safety education presentations.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck South) reports monitoring fish house removal progress as the northern deadline came and went. He also monitored panfish fishing activity throughout the past week. Regas reports anglers had varied results but a slow bite was experienced by many of them. Violations encountered and addressed this past week included ATV registration and angling license violations.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Blackduck North) reports that weather conditions have made recreation difficult recently. With that being said, anglers have still been able to access Lake of the Woods for both northern pike and walleyes. Prachar worked with local officers on Lake of the Woods and took enforcement action for using an illegal device while fishing, possession of fillets on special regulation waters and expired ATV registration. A business owner failed to remove fish houses from Upper Red Lake prior to the removal deadline. Because they waited too long they had numerous issues removing them with the water and slush that formed on top of the ice. A resolution is still forthcoming.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2022-03-28
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports checking various wildlife-related complaints. Time was also spent working on a deer violation from the 2021 firearms deer season. Anglers and ATV operators were checked.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji #1) monitored angling activity on area lakes. He also checked anglers on Leech Lake with CO McGowan.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports ice fishing has slowed due to warmer weather. Calls of sick and injured swans were passed on to Wildlife staff as the callers were concerned the swans may have ?bird flu.? An injured deer was dispatched and given to an area resident. Vinton attended a local firearms safety class and discussed conservation law enforcement with the students.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week checking anglers and doing equipment maintenance. Fish seem to be biting on area lakes, but conditions were slushy and ice was starting to pull away from the shore. Other time was spent assisting the county with calls for service and working on old cases.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) attended training, and worked ice shelter removal enforcement and ongoing cases.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the week working sport fishing, spring snow goose hunting and ATV enforcement. Time was also spent responding to miscellaneous wildlife-related calls.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) spent time on angling activity, with ice near shore deteriorating quickly. Anglers are advised to use caution if attempting to gain access to lakes. Public accesses were monitored for litter and fish house removal items. Follow up was conducted on open cases of items left on wildlife management areas and trapping. ATV, off-road vehicle and forest road activity was monitored. Questions were answered about trail closures.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week checking panfish and tullibee anglers on area lakes. The ice has deteriorated quickly and some lakes have open water pockets near old roads. Anglers should use extreme caution for the remainder of the season. The bite throughout the week was excellent on almost every lake. Calls about sick and injured animals were also handled.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2022-03-28
CO Andrew Goodman (Fergus Falls) reports melting snow has, unfortunately, revealed ice litter on area lakes. Lake owners and local clubs have assisted with cleanup. Goodman took several reports of dumped snow geese, many of them fully intact, from Ashby to Fergus Falls. Anyone with information about these cases is encouraged to use any of the available TIP reporting methods.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked anglers, ATV riders and trappers. Ice on local lakes has started to pull away from shore with the warm weather and runoff. Please be careful when venturing out on the ice and bring proper safety equipment with you.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) continued to watch the snow melt this week as most lakes are bare ice and fields are grass. Lots of deer and turkeys are being observed feeding after a long winter. Several calls of dead wildlife being found in road ditches and elsewhere were fielded, as the snow melts and everything that was concealed all winter is now exposed. A lakeshore resident was cited this week for unattended tip-ups. Back in mid-February, Lawler found two tip-ups set and frozen in the lake ice. Efforts then to locate the individual responsible failed and a large snowstorm covered them. This week with the snow melt, Lawler observed three tip-ups still set and frozen in the lake. One last interview conducted revealed the tip-ups? owner. He apologized for the violation, said he simply forgot to bring them in the night they were set, and then the snow covered them up for over a month. No fish were on the lines and a citation was issued. A firearms safety class was held in Alexandria and several area youth were certified.
CO Hanna Wood (Wheaton) spent the week focused on angling and ATV enforcement. More commercial inspections and minnow permits were done.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working fishing and recreational vehicle enforcement throughout the week. Commercial license inspections were completed and an appearance at a local school was made to talk to youth about conservation.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports enforcement efforts for the week were concentrated on checking anglers and ATV operators. Additional time was spent checking snow goose hunters and monitoring spring fish run activity. Ice conditions on area lakes are deteriorating with foot travel the only option on most lakes. Anglers are urged to use extreme caution when venturing onto late ice.
Osakis vacant.
Elbow Lake vacant.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2022-03-28
CO Adam Seifermann (Staples) reports checking panfish anglers, conducting equipment maintenance and fielding several calls from the public.
CO Nick Baum (Park Rapids) patrolled the area for angling activity. He has noticed reduced angling activity with the varying ice conditions. Baum continues to investigate commercial licenses in the area. He reminds people to check the ice before venturing out.
CO Calie Kunst (Remer) continued to check angling activity on area lakes. She also responded to a call about an injured animal.
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) patrolled Cass County lakes for angling activity. Enforcement action was taken for numerous violations.
CO Jacque Hughes (Longville) checked angling activity and reminds people to be cautious when traveling out on the ice. She also investigated complaints of people feeding deer.
CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) spent time during the week closing out ongoing cases and investigating deer-season violations. Litter was removed from a Stocking Lake, including bags of human excrement. Pick up after yourselves!
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) primarily checked anglers and ensured fish houses were removed from area lakes. The ice is melting fast and isn?t reliable. A litter complaint was worked where several dead deer carcasses were thrown into a river. Mathy also assisted Hubbard County with a disturbance call and investigated a complaint of shooting from the roadway. Time was also spent working on Bear Committee-related items.
ATV rec officer vacant.
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