MN DNR Conservation Officer
District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2025-11-24
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) and COC Jayden Frank spent the week checking deer hunters, assisting local agencies, and picking up an injured owl that will be transported to the Raptor Center. Enforcement action was taken for transporting loaded firearms.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent the week checking area deer hunters and following up on various complaints. Violations encountered were hunting with the aid of bait, leaving property in a wildlife management area overnight, using a ground blind without blaze orange on state land, burning prohibited material, unattended fire, and failure to obtain a burn permit.
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) spent the final week of the firearms deer season responding to calls and following up on open cases. Enforcement action was taken for hunting with the aid of bait, hunting deer without a license, transporting a loaded firearm, and leaving property on a WMA. Fontes assisted with the transportation of an injured great horned owl and saw to it that it made its 8 a.m. flight to the Raptor Center.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Baudette West) reports sparse deer harvest on the final days of the firearms deer season. Prachar worked with neighboring officers and took enforcement action for shining deer. Other enforcement action was taken for failure to register deer, trespassing, shooting big game from the roadway, and numerous other violations.
CO Bobby Stringer (Thief River Falls West) reports another busy week as the firearms deer season ended. Cooler weather with the chance of snow in the forecast will get the deer moving for the upcoming muzzleloader season. Remember, keep your powder dry and purchase applicable licenses in advance to avoid same-day violations. Stringer worked a wolf-depredation case in Pennington County and received many calls related to registration of deer. Other enforcement actions for the week included failure to register deer, failure to wear required blaze orange/pink, and several ATV violations.
CO Nick Bruesewitz (Karlstad) spent the week checking deer hunters during the last week of the firearms season. Violations encountered included validating/tagging requirements, registration issues, and various ATV violations.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Blackduck North) continued to work firearms deer season activity and field train COC Reuss. The officers talked to individuals at several different deer camps who were having mixed success. Several nice bucks were observed at camps, including a juvenile hunter taking his first buck. The officers responded to a call of a lost hunter whose cell phone died. They worked with a Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office deputy drone operator to find the individual. Several shining complaints were taken throughout the week. The officers worked activity and were able to stop a vehicle for shining activity. The equipment being used was seized and the individuals were released pending charges.
Baudette East – vacant.
Blackduck South – vacant.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2025-11-24
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports spending most of this week working on case follow ups and reports from the 2025 deer season. Various calls and complaints were received.
CO Jamus Veit (Bemidji #1) spent time checking hunters during the last week of the firearms deer season. He worked deer decoy details with area conservation officers. He also handled wildlife-related calls, reports of deer stands stolen from public land, and various complaints.
CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) spent the week following up on deer-season-related complaints, wetland, and public waters violations. The fair-weather weekend allowed waterfowlers one more shot at open-water ducks in the central zone. A few small flocks of mallards, ringnecks, and Canada geese were observed using larger water bodies. Additional time was spent on report writing and local government unit meetings.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week training with K9 Axel and other members of the DNR K9 team in Blackduck. Other time was spent working on reports and follow up from the rifle deer season.
CO Jordan Anderson (Osage) continued field training this week with COC Nathan Garza. Time was spent working the final week of the deer season and ATV enforcement in the Duluth West station. Enforcement action was taken for youth without ATV helmets and operating ATVs without lights.
CO William Landmark (Moorhead) continued this week field training COC Corbus. Time was spent continuing with firearms deer season investigations and doing an ice safety awareness television interview. The officers remind people that even though there may be ice as we approach Thanksgiving, it is not yet safe to walk or fish on. Enforcement action was taken for an overlimit of deer and the lending and borrowing of licenses. Calls from the public included questions about baiting, tagging deer, complaints of trespass, and reports of shooting from the road at big-game animals.
CO Angela Warren (Mahnomen) spent time on small-game, pheasant-, and waterfowl-hunting activity. Follow up was conducted on firearm deer season cases. Patrol was conducted for ATV and off-road vehicle activity.
CO Brady Manteufel (Bagley) checked deer hunters and worked with partnering officers for the final week of firearms deer season. Waterfowl hunters were checked, and TIP calls were also investigated. A deer carcass and fish carcasses were also found disposed of along a county road.
Bemidji #2 – vacant.
Pelican Rapids – vacant.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2025-11-24
CO Hanna Wood (Fergus Falls) spent the week focused on waterfowl, small-game, and recreational vehicle enforcement. Goose pits have been busy but overall bird movement has been slow.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) followed up on after-deer-season complaints and finalized cases from the deer season. Equipment maintenance was performed, and a snowmobile safety class has been scheduled with local instructors.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) checked angling and pheasant-hunting activity during the week. Annual training was completed, and case follow up from the firearms deer season was conducted.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) continued with deer-season investigations and complaints. Waterfowl numbers in the area have decreased. Fishing activity on area lakes is still being monitored.
CO Jake Homan (Alexandria) spent the week patrolling Douglas County for waterfowl, recreational vehicle, and angling activities. Time was spent assisting local agencies on a variety of different calls. Homan assisted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office with the rescue of waterfowl hunters whose boat capsized.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) spent the week following up on multiple cases from the deer season. She relays several new reports of violations came in this week from the deer season, which were also investigated. Znajda checked lots of duck hunters, who have had better success than the prior few weeks.
CO Curtis Jepson (Wheaton) reports spending most of this week checking duck and pheasant hunters. Waterfowl hunters are hopeful that with cold, snowy conditions, birds will congregate this upcoming week. Pheasant hunters had mixed success, largely depending upon their time and luck in finding prairie that’s been less pressured. Time was also spent on angling activities, with reports of a slow bite, and on various trespass-related calls.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working pheasant- and waterfowl-hunting activity throughout the week. Enforcement action was taken for individuals hunting in a waterfowl refuge. Investigations from various firearms deer season cases continue.
CO Andrew Ladzinski (Glenwood) spent his time following up on investigations and cases from the firearms deer season. Many hunters failed to register their deer from the firearm season. A reminder that it is illegal to use a drone to attempt to locate or recover a dead or wounded deer.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2025-11-24
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) worked the last week of the regular firearms deer season for most of the week. Cross saw good success throughout the season. Enforcement action was taken for numerous big-game violations, off-highway vehicle violations, and a motor vehicle violation. Cross also responded to a medical emergency.
CO Landyn Saewert (Wadena) spent most of the week following up on big-game cases from last week’s deer season. A possible wetland violation was investigated and is still under investigation. Assistance was given to a local agency with a motor vehicle crash.
CO Patrick McGowan (Cass Lake) continued field training COC Kaitylyn Istvanovich. The officers patrolled Winnibigoshish and Leech lakes for angling activity and waterfowl hunters. They also patrolled Cass County for big-game-hunting activity. Enforcement action was taken for transporting a loaded firearm, walleye overlimit, waterfowl -hunting violations, and numerous boating violations.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) continued to work the firearms deer season. Sura took expected complaints of carcass dumping. Please dispose of your deer carcasses appropriately! Violations encountered included transporting loaded firearms and unlawfully possessing firearms outdoors during the firearms deer season. A first-time hunter who had their hunter apprentice validation but not a valid deer hunting license was checked. The hunter was educated and warned. Sura continued to work on ongoing investigations.
CO Jacque Johnson (Longville) check deer- and waterfowl-hunting activity. She investigated multiple calls related to various deer-hunting violations.
Walker – vacant.
ATV rec officer – vacant.
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