District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2023-11-06
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) reports he was busy during the opening weekend of the firearms deer season. Fontes followed up on various TIPs and calls and enforced hunting laws. Enforcement action was taken for taking deer with the aid of bait.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls-West) worked the firearms deer opening weekend, seeing moderate success. Enforcement action was taken for taking deer with the aid of bait, untagged deer, failure to validate site tag, and recreational trespass.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Blackduck North) reports a busy firearms deer opener. Many hunters had successful hunts even with varying weather conditions. Enforcement action was taken for hunting deer over bait, transporting loaded firearms, DUI, and careless driving.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent time following up on various complaints and checking area deer hunters. Violations encountered were hunting with the aid of bait, transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and DWI.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck South) reports working trapping activity throughout the past week and the busy firearms deer hunting opening weekend. Time was spent handling a variety of injured-wildlife calls, issuing possession permits for car-killed deer, and investigating TIP information. Violations encountered and addressed this past week included hunting deer with the aid of bait, transporting loaded firearms in motor vehicles and license violations.
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) prepared for and worked the opening weekend of the firearms deer season. Hunters were found to be hunting with the aid of bait on opening morning. Other deer hunters were found to be transporting a loaded firearm. Other complaints of shooting from the road and illegal carcass dumping were fielded.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2023-11-06
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports working small-game-hunting activity and checking anglers. Time was further spent contacting numerous deer hunters during the first weekend of the firearms deer season. Enforcement action was taken for various deer hunting related violations.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji #1) worked a busy opening weekend of the firearms deer season. Several hunters were contacted. They were having limited success. Waterfowl hunters and anglers are still making it out onto area lakes. ATV activity was monitored on area trails and forest roads.
CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) responded to various TIPs and complaints during the opening weekend of the firearms deer season. Overall compliance was high in the area, with many hunters reporting moderate deer movement. A few anglers and waterfowl hunters continue to brave the icy waters, with limited harvest success. Safety equipment remains the most common violation encountered. Goodman would like to remind folks to wear blaze orange, a life jacket and/or a helmet as it applies to your recreational activity.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week checking duck hunters and getting ready for the rifle deer season. Over the weekend, Swedberg was able to work multiple baiting cases around the area with other local COs. Swedberg, CO Chihak and Capt. Seefeldt were also able to work a case where a landowner was baiting and used a rifle while in the shotgun zone to get his buck that morning.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the weekend working the firearms deer season opener. Violations encountered included hunting over bait, using a rifle in the shotgun zone, trespassing and operating an ATV with a passenger under 18 without a helmet.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week finishing Step 3 of field training with COC Jamus Veit. They focused on deer-hunting enforcement, which included baiting investigations prior to season. Through the first weekend, hunter numbers appeared lower than normal and success rates were low. Calls from the public included reports of trespassing, hunter harassment, and requests for car-killed deer permits. Baiting still remains prevalent and several individuals received citations and their firearms were seized. Enforcement action was also taken for sighting in rifles within five days of season, trespassing, transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, no blaze orange, and failure to obtain a burning permit.
CO Brett Fox (Bemidji #2) spent the week patrolling for ATV, waterfowl, and small-game activity. Fox also put a heavy emphasis on deer-hunting enforcement during the opening weekend. Violations this week included hunting over bait, operating ATVs outside of legal hours during deer season, and DWI.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2023-11-06
CO Hanna Wood (Fergus Falls) focused on big-game enforcement leading up to and during the firearms deer opener. Several hunters were contacted, and several hunters were successful. Wood took several calls from people with questions. She also handled TIP complaints, which resulted in cases being made. Wood appreciated people?s help in identifying and reporting suspicious activity.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) responded to several trespass and landowner issues prior to deer season. A deer stand was hit by a neighboring hunter?s bullet while the stand was occupied. Plautz met with all individuals involved and everyone was very cooperative. Thankfully, no injuries were sustained. Heated disputes between hunters occurred and mediation was embraced between those involved. Numerous phone calls from people with deer-season-related questions were answered and night-shining activity was worked. Trespass issues were addressed, and public land complaints were monitored.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) reports spending most of his enforcement effort on angling and firearms deer season activity this past week. Deer-hunting success was low over the weekend. Some violations encountered this week included hunting with the aid or use of bait, operating an ATV without the required headlights activated, and a juvenile ATV passenger helmet violation.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked waterfowl, pheasant and firearms deer hunters. Several calls were taken concerning deer-hunting regulations. Tagging, license issues and ATV violations were encountered.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) prepared for then monitored heavy deer-hunting activity throughout opening weekend. Success was hit or miss overall, with some hunters tagging multiple deer. However, many didn?t even fire their guns. With the help of the DNR Aviation Unit, Lawler, CO Znajda and Capt. Johanson were able to locate and apprehend a large group of hunters hunting over several baited stands. Several citations were issued, and multiple firearms were seized. Lots of other violations were addressed involving tagging deer and loaded firearms in motor vehicles. Unfortunately, there were a few different incidents in the area involving hunters who were injured by their own firearm and falling from a tree stand.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) encountered a variety of violations throughout the week leading up to a very busy firearms deer hunting weekend. A large number of hunters were out over the opener, with moderate harvest reports. She reports seeing a surprising number of youth taking part in the hunts. Various violations were encountered, including hunting with the aid of bait, transporting untagged deer, and failure to validate deer tags.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working on various projects regarding big-game incidents. Time was also spent helping dispatch and the TIP line answer questions and calls over opening deer weekend.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports enforcement efforts for the week were concentrated on checking pheasant, waterfowl, and deer hunters. Complaints of trespass, early shooting, and road hunting were investigated. Deer harvest around the area for opening weekend was down, with hunters complaining of low deer numbers.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2023-11-06
CO Jacque Johnson (Longville) checked deer-hunting activity. Various violations were investigated, such as hunter harassment, dogs chasing deer, and feeding in a CWD zone. Enforcement action was taken for operating ATVs in closed hours.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) continued working with a new conservation officer. The officers primarily checked small-game, big-game, and trapping activity. Many deer hunters were checked in the area during the busy opening weekend. Work continues following up on ongoing big-game investigations.
CO Adam Seifermann (Staples) reports a steady start to the firearms deer season, with many hunters having a successful hunt. He reports investigating trespassing, poaching and general complaints related to the firearms deer season. Some enforcement action consisted of transportation of loaded firearms, unregistered and untagged deer, failure to validate a site tag, hunting over bait and shining violations.
CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) spent most of the week handling questions and issues related to deer-hunting activities. Enforcement action was taken for various violations related to illegal structures and abandoned property on state forest lands, as well as a shining investigation that also involved a DWI and hunting while intoxicated offense.
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) worked small-game, waterfowl, and deer-hunting enforcement. Cross fielded many questions and responded to numerous calls for service. Cross saw mixed success throughout the firearms deer opener. Enforcement action was taken for waterfowl- and deer-hunting violations.
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) patrolled Cass County for waterfowl and big-game-hunting activity. Waterfowl and deer hunters reported mixed success. Enforcement action was taken for numerous waterfowl and big-game violations.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) checked deer hunters over the busy weekend. Success for the area was relatively low, but Sura did check a few dandy bucks. Overall compliance observed in the field was very good. Some violations encountered included transporting loaded firearms, operating ATVs on a state highway, and allowing juvenile ATV passengers to ride without a helmet and seatbelt.
ATV rec officer vacant.
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