District 6 - Two Harbors
CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) attended an after-action review of the fire outbreak in May along with several other representatives of local and federal responders. Numerous problem-bear complaints were taken around the city of Ely. Residents are reminded to continue to secure things like grills, bird feeders, and garbage.
CO Hudson Ledeen (Hovland) spent the week checking anglers and boaters. Most anglers were struggling to find fish, but some were able to find a smallmouth bass or two. The black flies and mosquitos are swarming everywhere and don’t appear to be letting up anytime soon.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) reports receiving nuisance-bear complaints, picking up protected non-game road-killed animals, and handling other calls for service. Time was spent on a deer case resulting in enforcement action, as well as patrolling area lakes and picking up new equipment. Additional violations included insufficient PFDs and litter.
CO Megan Franzen (Silver Bay) spenttheweekmonitoringanglingand ATV activity around the area. Time was also spent responding to various wildlife- and wetland-related calls. Many calls were received related to newly born fawns as well.
CO Trent Anderson (Tofte) focused on angling and boating enforcement for the week. Anglers reported a slower bite overall with a few smallmouth bass being caught. Bugs continue to be an issue for most folks. Boaters are reminded to remove their drain plug before transporting.
District 5 - Eveleth area
CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls #1) reports fishing, boating, and animal-related complaints continue to be the main areas of the workload. Equipment needs and maintenance werealsohandled.Peoplearereminded to give baby animals their space and to leave them alone.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) reports angling activity continues to be the most popular outdoor activity in the area. The latest string of rain showers seems to have triggered a bite with several upbeat angling reports heard. Animals-causing-damage complaints were heard and options for relief were provided. A complaint of camping at a public access was heard and addressed. Boating safety equipment deficiencies were discussed with anglers and boaters. Several questions about the new boating safety certification requirements were heard from boat owners and businesses alike.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports monitoring area lakes, checking local forest roads, and visiting public water access sites. Equipment work continues, along with responding to calls about nuisance wildlife. Administrative task completion is ongoing.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spent time this week monitoring ATV activity on area roads and trails, along with checking anglers and monitoring boating activity. Fishing has been up and down, with not many anglers doing well. Time was also spent completing some training.
CO Aaron Larson (Tower) spent time primarily working angling and ATV enforcement.Healsotookvarious wildlife-related calls and responding to an illegal brush fire. He assisted State Patrol with a call related to two large pigs on the highway. Larson assisted by helping herd the pigs back to their pens.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked ATV and angling enforcement. In addition, time was spent presentingatafirearmssafetyclassand responding to a variety of calls. Recreational activity appears to be down in general across the area, with fewer boats and ATVs being seen than what is normally expected this time of year.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) assisted with an ATV field day held at the Gilbert OHV Park over the weekend. The Gilbert Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Louis County Rescue Squad all helped, certifying 15 students. Zavodnik and CO Cannonalsocompletedafish-overlimit case where the subject was found to be more than 60 crappies and five walleyes over the possession limit.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring hunting, fishing, and ATV activity. Outdoor recreational activity remained low this week. Anglers reported limited success. BroughtenfieldedcallsregardingATV
PARK
registration, wetland violations, and trespass.
District 7 - Grand Rapids area
CO Vinny Brown (Northome) checked anglers, worked ORV enforcement, and answered numerous wildlife-related calls and questions. An individual was found in possession of crappie, sunfish, northern pike, and rock bass overlimits. Charges for fish overlimits are pending. Enforcement action was also taken for fishing without licenses,fishinginclosedareas,and no throwable device on a watercraft.
COJaysonHansen(Bigfork)worked ATV, boating, and fishing activities. He patrolled area trails and campgrounds. Numerous game and fish-related questions were answered. He also responded to wildlife-related complaints.
CO Mike Fairbanks (Deer River) checked anglers, monitored OHV activity, and responded to nuisance-animal complaints. Fairbanks and his K9 partner Fennec also attended provided a K9 demonstration and searched for evidence in an ongoing investigation. Enforcement action was taken for license issuesandwatercraft-equipment violations.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked walleye angling activity with the bite starting to heat up. Enforcement action was taken for angling too close to a dam, angling without a license, and not having enough life jackets on a watercraft. Sutherland dealt with multiple nuisance-bear complaints. Sutherland also gave a local outdoor enthusiast group a fur presentation, speaking about the local animals and their habitat.
CO Jimmy Van Asch (Pengilly) reports working sport fishing, boating, ATV, and AIS activities. TIP calls were fielded and addressed, as well. Enforcement action was taken several ATV violations.
CO Taylor Hochstein (Hill City) reports fishing success remains good in the area with several people having luck catching mixed bags. Time was spent at Camp Ripley assisting with the current CO Academy. Assistance wasalsogiventolocallawenforcement agencies with calls for service.
CO Brian Holt (Grand Rapids) worked fishing and boating safety during the previous week. Time was also spent following up on complaints of peoplefishinginclosedareas.Miscellaneous wildlife-relatedcomplaintswere addressed,includingseveralnuisancebear complaints. Enforcement action was taken for angling in closed areas.
Aviation Section
CO Pilot Charles Scott (Brainerd) conducted elk survey test flights.
CO Pilot Tim Gray (Bemidji) flew Wildlife staff to test parameters for next winter’s elk survey and a survey flight for Fisheries.
CO Pilot Ryan Hanna (Grand Rapids) flew various missions for aerial survey and public waters violations. The public waters violation included a lakeshore owner filling in a portion of the lakeshore.
CO Pilot Jason Jensen (Brainerd) reports flyingwaterfowltelemetryflights and a rotary training flight. Possible aquatic plant management violations were forwarded to local officers and an in-progress WCA violation photo was taken for a local government unit.
Enforcement Education
Please check the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov for a current class listing of all DNR Enforcement Education Courses and instructor training sessions.
If you missed a fall class and are over 18, check online for the online course information. (It is also at www. mndnr.gov.)
Please check the DNR website www. mndnr.gov for a current class listing of all DNR Enforcement Youth and Adult Snowmobile Safety Courses and instructor training sessions.
Please direct questions to 1-800-3668917 or 1-888-MINNDNR.
Reminder: Anyone born after December 31, 1979 cannot purchase a license to hunt in Minnesota without first taking a DNR Safety Training Course and receiving a certificate. In addition, many states have even more stringent mandatory Hunter Education requirements. Check before you go!
