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District 6 - Two Harbors
CO Sean Williams (Ely 1) reports: extremely high activity over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the Ely area. Angler success was found to be low, but the warmer weather was appreciated by those attempting to catch fish. Violations included: angling without a license, no trout stamp on a designated trout lake, and fail to display current atv registration.
CO Brent Ihnen (Ely 2) focused his time this week checking fishing and boating activity. He also patrolled for ATVandOHMactivity.Additionaltime was spent monitoring AIS compliance at area public accesses.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked a detail in the BWCAW withOfficersSchottenbauerandOberg. The weather nice and the bite was hot. Enforcement action was taken for angling in a closed area, boating and license violations.
CO Hudson Ledeen (Hovland) spent the week patrolling area lakes and streams. Fishing has improved as most anglershadsomethingtoshowfortheir efforts. Memorial weekend saw the last stretches of mosquito free weather. Enforcement action was taken for a multitude of violations.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) reports working a busy week and holiday weekend of ATV, angling, boating, and BWCAW enforcement. With good weather many people were out enjoying the outdoors. High violation rates were encountered, with enforcement action taken for violations to include: fishing without a license, insufficient PFDs, expired registration, underage alcohol consumption, cans in the BWCAW, no ATV safety certificate, and no helmet on youth ATV passenger. Deer, moose, and bear calls were all handled as well.
CO Megan Franzen (Silver Bay) spent the week checking anglers and monitoring ATV activity around the area. Great weather over Memorial Day weekend brought many people to the area, and time was also spent responding to ATV crashes and local search and rescues.Enforcementactionwastaken for ATV and OHM related violations.
CO Trent Anderson (Tofte) focused on angling and boating safety enforcement over the busy Memorial Day weekend. Time was spent patrolling the BWCAW with anglers reporting mixed success. One group in particular reported being able to catch enough fish for a campfire dinner one day, then trying again the next day without a nibble. Enforcement action was taken for various angling and boating safety related violations.
District 5 - Eveleth area
CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls #1) reports busy Memorial weekend with lots of people enjoying the nice weather fishing and boating on Rainy Lake. Enforcement action for the week included illegal length walleye, overlimits, license issues, and illegal transport. A few animal complaints were also handled throughout the week. People are reminded to leave the newborn fawns alone and stay away.
CO Curtis Simonson (International Falls #2) reports working area lakes and rivers this past week. Angling and boating activity were monitored. Being in possession of illegal length walleyes, not having various boat safety equipment, expired registration displayed on boats were some of the violations that enforcement action was taken for this week. Cooler temps over the weekend limited recreational activity on the water.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) Campgrounds and public accesses were buzzing with activity over the Memorial Day weekend. Angling activity on area lakes remains high. Success reports have been mixed with water temperatures lagging behind historical values. Aquatic invasive species enforcement was worked. Boats being transported with drain plugs in place is still a common violation encountered. It is recommended to review requirements for transporting fish before cleaning them, especially if you are at a remote campsite across the lake.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports fire danger remains extreme and no rain is in the forecast for the extended time period. Bears and beaver continue causing problems. Public access sites were visited, and area forest roads were monitored. Area lakes were checked, fishing success remains mixed.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spent the majority of the week working ATV enforcement, monitoring boating activity
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and checking anglers. A busy memorial d ay w eekend w as w orked on Lake Vermilion, with many anglers and boaters contacted. The bite was up and down, but overall seems to be improving. Violations encountered this week included: Youth on ATV without helmet, Unregistered ATV, Fishing license issues, boat registration issues and boating safety equipment issues.
CO Aaron Larson (Tower) primarily worked angling and boating enforcement. Time was also spent checking for ATVs. Larson spent time in the BWCAW checking campers and anglers. Violations included cans/ glass in the BWCAW, boat registration issues, and angling license violations. He also spent time working on a wolf depredation case.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked angling, boating, and ATV activity over the week. The holiday weekendwasnotasbusyasanticipated with far fewer ATVs and watercraft observedthanpastholidays.Violations encountered included allowing illegal ATV operation, no helmets on youth, and ATV/boat registration issues.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) responded to an ATV crash with injuries overtheweekend.Thevictimwasfound in the middle of a steeply graded hill when CO Zavodnik arrived on scene. An inflatable life raft was utilized to transport the injured operator down the hill. Thereafter, they were transported out of the OHV park and were air lifted for additional medical care. Enforcement action was taken regarding ATV, trespass, and angling violations.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring ATV, boating, and fishing activity. Fishermen reported limited success. Cooler temperatures appeared to have limited boating activity. ATV season has started off to poor representation for the sport. Officer Broughten fielded multiple complaints of trespass, damage to property, and operation violations. ATV operators are reminded to stay on posted trails and to respect private property. Some of the new machines do not fit the classification of an ATV due to their weight. CO Broughten also fielded calls regarding nuisance bears and a wetland/waters violation.
District 7 - Grand Rapids area
CO Vinny Brown (Northome) patrolled area lakes, making boat safety checks and checking anglers. ATV enforcement was conducted and wildlife related questions were answered. Enforcement action was taken for possession of slot walleye and northern pike in violationofspecialregulationsonLake Winnie and Island Lake. Enforcement action was also taken for numerous boat safety and fishing license violations, and for taking small mouth bass out of season.
COJaysonHansen(Bigfork)Worked ATV’s, boating, and fishing activities. He patrolled area trails and campgrounds. Numerous game and fish questions were answered. He also responded towildlife-relatedcomplaints.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked angling and ATV activity over the past week with the walleye bite starting to get good on area lakes. CO Sutherland took enforcement action for anglingwithoutalicense,anglingwithout a license in possession, operating a watercraft without enough live saving deviceson-board,possessingprotected slot walleyes, possessing protected slot northern-pike and for being over-limit with turkeys where an individual shot aturkeythinkinghehadonlyoneTom, but had inadvertently shot a Jake as well. They self-reported the incident andonlyawarningwasissuedbecause they turned themselves in. Remember honesty goes a long ways.
Aviation Section
CO Pilot Jason Jensen (Brainerd) reports flying fire detection flights and creel survey flights. Jensen also stocked walleye fry into various BWCA lakes. Jensen spent time following up on violations found during these various flights.
CO P ilot Tim Gray ( Bemidji) continued flying the waterfowl survey. He also assisted a field CO into remote areas that would be difficult and time consuming to access by land. Multiple contacts were made with parties in these areas.
CO Pilot Ryan Hanna (Grand Rapids) conducted a survey flight on the Rainy River. CO Hanna also completed some online aviation training.
