District 6 - Two Harbors CO Brent Ihnen (Ely #2) patrolled his station this week checking anglers and watercraft operators. He also checked grouse hunters and a couple waterfowl hunters. Additional time was spent monitoring ATV and OHM activity on area trails.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) monitored grouse hunting and ATV activity in the Superior National Forest. He talked with acouplebearhunterswhohad questions regarding the rules and regulations. Anglers were checked on area lakes.
COHudsonLedeen(Hovland)
reports hunters and anglers are hitting the woods and waters in hopes of success targeting their desired species. Grouse numbers seem to be trending down as hunters report limited success. Ledeen attended annual training in Hibbing earlier in the week.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) attended training and firearms qualifications. Time was spent on ATV, small game, and angling enforcement, both in and out of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Enforcement action was taken for fishing without a license, hunting without a license, and ATV violations. Assistance was provided to other agencies, and a couple calls about problem bears were taken.
COMeganFranzen(Silver Bay) spent the week monitoring ATV and small-game activity. Time was also spent attending annual training and committee meetings. Enforcement action was taken for various violations.
COTrentAnderson(Tofte) focused on grouse hunting and angling enforcement for the week. Time was spent handling nuisance-bear and miscellaneous wildlife-related calls. Grouse hunters reported fewer-than-expected bird sightings. Hunters who spent time walking trails experienced better success. Enforcement action was taken for various small-game-related violations.
CO Cassie Block (Two Harbors) spent time this week checking anglers on area lakes. Time was also spent checking hunters in the area. Block also focused efforts on training with K9 Jet.
District 5 - Eveleth area CO Paul Kennedy (International Falls #1) monitored ATVandsmall-gameactivity throughout his area. Grouse hunters are reporting a slow start to the season with a lot of leaves left on the trees. He worked with partner agencies on potential wetland violations in the area. Kennedy also assisted during a trapper’s education course held by local instructors over the weekend. Enforcement action for the week included ATV-careless operation, operating an ATV on a state highway, no ATV safety certificate, and operator under 18 without a helmet.
CO Curtis Simonson (International Falls #2) reports working ATV activity, checking small-game hunters, and checkinganglersontheRainy River.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) spent the week field training with COC Jack Lien. Small-game, ATV, sport fishing, and watercraft enforcement was conducted. They also provided a law and ethics talk to a local trapper’s education class as the season opens soon.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports small-game-hunting activity remains light with few hunters and few birds. The weekend rain further dampened spirits. Questions continue about the lack of ducks. Forest roads and public access sites were visited. In between rain events, ATV activity was monitored.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spenttimethisweekchecking anglersandmonitoringsmallgame hunting, bear-hunting, and ATV activity. Time was also spent dealing with miscellaneous wildlife-related calls and attending training. COAaronLarson(Tower) worked angling, ATV, and small-game enforcement. Small-game hunters were still having little success. Violations were related to angling licenses.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked small-game, ATV, and biggame activity. In addition, time was spent attending a regional training and presenting at a firearms safety class in Buhl. Warm weather and thick cover have frustrated manysmall-gamehuntersout looking for grouse.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring hunting, fishing, and ATV activity. Grouse hunters reported limited success and reported seeing few birds. Anglers reported moderate success. Broughten also fielded calls regarding youth deer season, legal firearms for small game, and ATV safety.
District 7 - Grand Rapids area CO Jayson Hansen (Bigfork) worked ATV riders, boaters, big-game and waterfowl hunters, and anglers. He patrolled area trails and campgrounds. Numerous game and fish-related questions were answered. He also responded to wildlife-related complaints.
COMikeFairbanks(Deer River) checked anglers, worked small-game hunters, and monitored OHV activity this week. Fairbanks and his K9 partner Fennec also responded to search for a lost hunter and searched for evidence in an ongoing investigation. Enforcement action was taken for license issues and watercraft-registration violations.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked the last week of early goose season with some individuals still harvesting geese. Sutherland is also seeing a good fall fishing bite start with the crappies and walleyes staging up. Sutherland also had fall firearms training and workedmidseasonbear-hunting activities.
CO Jimmy Van Asch (Pengilly) focused enforcement efforts on small-game, big-game, angling, boating, and ATV activities throughout the surrounding areas. Enforcement action was taken for various hunting and ATV-related violations.
COTaylorHochstein(Hill City) reports that visibility in the woods is increasing every day with leaves falling, and it is anticipated that grouse-hunting success will increase with the changes. ATV activities were monitored, and some big-game and small-game-related calls were investigated.
CO Brian Holt (Grand Rapids) worked big- and small-game-huntingthroughout the previous week. Time was also spent checking anglers and boating safety. Several TIP complaints were investigated and ongoing investigations closed out. Enforcement action was taken for littering, angling violations, and fishing in the closed area 300 feet below the Pokegama Dam.
Aviation Section
CO Pilot Charles Scott (Brainerd) started training with CO Pilot Shaw and attended to hangar maintenance. Additional planned training flights had to be rescheduled due to weather.
CO Pilot Tim Gray (Bemidji) flew a wood duck telemetry flight, attended fall in-service training, and assisted at an additional in-service training. Gray also worked with district 1 and 2 officers on a shining detail.
CO Pilot Ryan Hanna (Grand Rapids) has been grounded for the better part of the prior week due to low cloud ceilings. This has allowed Hanna to catch up on various hangar and training tasks.
NR Pilot Gracie Zeller (Brainerd) represented the Aviation Unit at the 30th annual Enviro Fest in Todd County where many aspects of conservation are taught to numerous school groups. Zeller also assisted in modernizing security features at the Brainerd hangars.
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.)
