District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2024-05-28
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked anglers on Lake of the Woods throughout the week and over the Memorial Holiday weekend. Fishing continues to be a bit slow with the unstable weather. Fishing violations for the week included possessing an overlimit of walleyes/sauger, angling with extra lines, fishing without a license, and giving a false name and date of birth to a police officer. A wolf depredation was investigated near Salol.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent the week checking area anglers and responding to various complaints. Violations encountered were no life jacket, no throwable, and no license in possession.
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) spent the week patrolling Lake of the Woods and following up on miscellaneous reports. Enforcement action was taken for no angling license in possession, improper safety equipment, and for a child without a life jacket.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Baudette West) reports a windy Memorial Day weekend. Time was spent working angling and ATV activity. Enforcement action was taken for illegal possession of fish, angling with no license, and operating an ATV while intoxicated.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) worked the holiday weekend on Lake of the Woods and in the Beltrami Island State Forest with Lt. Benjamin. Weather played a part in outdoor activities over the holiday. Enforcement action was taken for unregistered watercraft, failure to transfer watercraft ownership, no helmet on a juvenile ATV passenger, and operating an ATV in a state park.
CO Sarah Jahn (Thief River Falls East) spent time working angling activity, ATV activity and boating activity. Wolf depredations and various wildlife-related complaints were handled. A wetlands violation investigation and big-game investigation were initiated.
CO Nick Bruesewitz (Karlstad) spent the week working angling and ATV activity. Various wildlife-related complaints were answered. Enforcement action was taken for ATV riders operating without lights, throwing cigarette filters into a body of water, and youthful passengers without helmets.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Blackduck North) worked Upper Red Lake angling and boating activity. The bite has slowed significantly throughout the week with several days of strong west winds. The bite should improve with a few days of calmer winds. He worked a boating enforcement detail on the Whitefish Chain near Pine River, where numerous boating violations were addressed. Nuisance-bear calls were taken and a meeting at Camp Ripley was attended in preparation for upcoming CO Academy training.
Baudette East vacant.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2024-05-28
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports checking anglers and watercraft operators this past week. Several contacts were made during the holiday weekend. Various angling and boat-related issues were addressed.
CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) reports his primary focus for the week was on boating and angling enforcement. The holiday weekend brought an influx of recreational boaters to area lakes, despite low water temperatures, while anglers continued to report a slow bite. Violations for life jacket shortages and expired boat registration were the most common violations encountered.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week working on area lakes, checking anglers and boaters. It was a busy holiday weekend and Swedberg was able to talk to many people out enjoying the good conditions. Swedberg also worked on commercial minnow trapping cases, assisted Becker County with calls for service, and investigated some wetland and shoreline issues.
CO Jordan Anderson (Osage) worked fishing, boating and ATV enforcement during the week and the Memorial Day weekend, with a noted uptick in activity. Fishing was good for some people, and boating violations were minimal. ATV riders are encouraged to read a rule book before venturing out to make sure they have an idea of where they can ride.
CO Bill Landmark (Moorhead) spent the week patrolling for boating and angling violations. Nuisance-wildlife calls were also handled.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) worked angling and boating activity, with checks continuing to show good compliance with regulations. ATV and off-road vehicle patrol was conducted. Area leeching and bait harvest was monitored.
CO Brady Manteufel (Bagley) conducted angler and boating safety checks throughout the week. ATV patrol was conducted. Youth not meeting the age requirement to operate a Class II ATV and no-helmet violations were enforced. Calls about wolf- and bear-related complaints, and newborn fawns found on roadsides, were addressed. Manteufel would like to remind everyone to not move the fawns when they are found. Training was conducted with a DNR intern this week and follow up on property left on public lands was addressed.
CO Jamus Veit (Bemidji #2) spent the week checking area angler activity, monitoring ATV activity, investigating a gray wolf depredation complaint, responding to wildlife-related incidents, and fielding calls. Most area walleye anglers are seeing success in the evening hours. Enforcement action was taken for watercraft registration, angling without a license, illegal-length northern pike, personal floatation device required, and failure to have a type IV throwable.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2024-05-28
CO Hanna Wood (Fergus Falls) spent some of the week at Camp Ripley assisting with training. She?s also received information regarding bear sightings and nuisance bears. She would like to remind people to leave bears alone and to remove all food sources that could attract the bears.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) spent time on the water with a focus on fishing, boating, and AIS enforcement. Overall compliance was good, with a lot of activity on the lakes. Lack of a throwable PFD was a common violation found among boaters. All boats 16 feet and over must have a throwable PFD on board. Assistance was given to a disabled pontoon on a lake. She helped the occupants get back to a residence.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) reports spending most of his enforcement effort on boating and angling activity throughout the week. TIP complaints were fielded, and enforcement action was taken. Memorial Day weekend saw a lot of boaters out on the waters due to the warm weather. Enforcement action this week included expired ATV registration, keeping bass within the protected slot on a special regulation lake, and taking minnows out of infested waters.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked anglers, boaters, and ATV riders. Angler-harassment complaints were received and investigated. Water is public and anglers can fish all the water in a lake. The lake does not belong to one person, and it doesn?t matter what you pay in taxes.
CO Jake Homan (Alexandria) spent the week patrolling Douglas County. The fishing activity has continued to be steady across area lakes. Enforcement action was taken on a variety of watercraft, ATV, and angling violations.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) spent a busy week patrolling her area lakes and surrounding highly populated lakes. She teamed up with other officers for extra boat and water patrol on the Whitefish Chain near Brainerd and Lake Traverse in Traverse County. Overlimits of fish and northern pike within the protected slot seemed to be the theme. Numerous violations for no license in possession, fishing without a license, and boat and water safety violations were encountered, with various enforcement action taken.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports enforcement efforts for the week were focused on checking anglers and boaters and monitoring AIS law compliance. Additional time was spent checking turkey hunters and ATV operators. Nice weather brought out a lot of anglers and boaters over the Memorial Day weekend. Most anglers saw success on area lakes.
Wheaton vacant.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2024-05-28
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) patrolled Leech Lake, Upper Red Lake, and the Whitefish Chain throughout the week. McGowan also attended meetings at Camp Ripley for upcoming Academy trainings. Enforcement action was taken for numerous angling and ATV violations.
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) working angling, boating, and off-highway vehicle enforcement. It was a very busy Memorial Day weekend on the trails and the lakes. Cross was glad to see so many people out enjoying the freedoms provided to us by those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country on Memorial Day. Enforcement action was taken for ATV, boating, and fishing violations.
CO Landyn Saewert (Wadena) spent time patrolling area lakes and local ATV trails. Fishing success was poor locally. Memorial Day weekend was spent enforcing ATV activity in the Huntersville State Forest. Enforcement action for the week included no PFDs, juveniles operating ATVs without helmets, and operating ATVs without lights.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) worked a detail in the BWCAW where, despite wet and windy weather, many paddlers and anglers were still willing to get out and try to enjoy the wilderness. Sura worked ATV, boating, and angling activity over the holiday weekend. Enforcement action was taken for operating ATVs on state highways, youth ATV passengers allowed to ride without wearing helmets, and expired registration.
CO Jacque Johnson (Longville) checked angling and ATV activity. Enforcement action was taken for fishing without a license, kids without helmets on ATVs, unpermitted weed roller, and driving ATVs in prohibited areas.
ATV rec officer vacant.
Comments