District 6 - Two Harbors CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports hunting activity was again slow in the Ely area. Warm and dry weather made ideal conditions for ATV riding and many of the trails had almost constant traffic. Violations included failure to display ATV registration, failure to transfer ATV registration, and juvenile ATV passengers without helmets. CO Brent Ihnen (Ely #2) monitored deer-, waterfowl-, and small-game hunting activity this week. He also checked anglers and watercraft operators. Additional time was spent patrolling for ATV and OHM riders.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked the waterfowl opener in the Evansville area. Despite the very warm weather, most hunters had some success. He also attended training at Camp Ripley.
C O H udson L edeen (Hovland) reports a busy weekend in the woods with several different user types taking advantage of the beautiful autumn days. Hikers, cyclists, ATV riders, grouse hunters, leaf peepers, anglers, paddlers, waterfowl hunters, bear hunters, and tribal moose hunterswereallseenthroughout the county. Enforcement action was taken for varying violations.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked waterfowl opener weekend. He also checked anglers and grouse hunters throughout the week. More success was seen for ducks than grouse. Grouse numbers seem way down in the area this year. Enforcement action was taken for no state or federal waterfowl stamps, unplugged shotgun, toxic shot, no walk-in access validation, ATV violations, and traffic violations.
C O M egan F ranzen (Silver Bay) spent the week monitoring ATV activity and small-game hunters. The Ride and Rally brought many recreators to the area, and the weather was perfect for the event. Time was also spent responding to rescue and wildlife-related calls.
C O T rent A nderson (Tofte) noted the woods were full this past week with fall color seekers, grouse hunters, and ATV operators. Many folks were checked afield grouse hunting. They were having limited success. Hunters are optimistic bird sightings will increase once leaves fall. Time was spent working waterfowl-hunting activity and answering miscellaneous wildlife-related questions. Enforcement action was taken for ATV- and grouse-hunting-related violations.
CO Cassie Block (Two Harbors) spent time this week checking hunters in the area. Block reports seeing some success among small-game hunters. Time was also spent working and training with K9 Jet.
District 5 - Eveleth area CO Paul Kennedy (International Falls #1) continued follow-up investigations for various cases in the area. He assisted partner agencies on a potential wetland violation. Kennedy followed up on a complaint regarding an illegal- length sturgeon being caught from the Rainy River. He also received a call about a bull moose getting into a pasture with a local herd of buffalo. The buffalo were moved to a nearby corral while the moose was directed to an area where it was able to jump the fence and free itself. Waterfowl hunters were checked and reported mixed success over the weekend.
C O J ohn S latinski I V (Ray) worked waterfowl opener with COC Jack Lien. Waterfowl-hunting success varied between different groups. Time was also spent enforcing fishing, smallgame, ATV, and watercraft activity as well. Grouse activity along the wooded trails should increase as more of the leaves fall from the trees as the season advances.
C O T roy F ondie ( Orr) reports monitoring area forest roads for small-game and ATV activity. Summer-like weather yielded little in the way of success for grouse hunters. Public access sites were visited. Resort owners were visited with, and angling activity was monitored.
COAaronLarson(Tower) worked primarily angling, small-game, ATV, and waterfowl- hunting enforcement. Time was spent checking anglers primarily on Lake Vermilion and other smaller lakes. Waterfowl hunters seemed to be having poor success over the opener weekend. Violations were related to boating safety equipment, fishing licenses, and angling with extra lines. He also encountered violations of ATVs operating on the highway.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked small-game, ATV, and waterfowl activity. In addition, time was spent training at Camp Ripley, assisting local law enforcement agencies, and presenting at an ATV safety event in Hibbing. Many grouse and duck hunters expressed frustrations with the warm weather and limited hunting success.
C O S hane Z avodnik (Virginia) spent time fielding waterfowl-hunting, nuisance- beaver, and trespass questions over the week. Duck opener weekend was quite busy in the Virginia station, and many hunters had fair success despite the warm weather. Enforcement action taken over the weekend included unpluggedshotgun,no federal duck stamp, no state duck stamp, motorized use on a restricted lake, and insufficient life jackets on board watercraft. One hunting party was also found harvesting a pied-billed grebe, thinking it was a coot.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring hunting, fishing, and ATV activity. Grouse hunters continued to report limited success. Few waterfowl hunters were encountered over opening weekend. Waterfowl hunters reported seeing few ducks. Bags consisted mostly of a few wood ducks and teal. Anglers reported moderate success.
District 7 - Grand Rapids area
CO Vinny Brown (Northome) checked anglers, smallgame hunters, and waterfowl hunters over opening weekend of the waterfowl season. Various waterfowland bear-hunting-related questions were answered. Enforcement action was taken for ATV-safety-related violations, no small \\game license in possession, and transporting a loaded firearm. 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.
C O M ike F airbanks (Deer River) worked the waterfowl opener, monitored small-game hunting, checked anglers, and answered many questions from the public. Fairbanks and his K9 partner Fennec assisted in the search for an escaped convict, located evidence in an ongoing investigation, and gave a demonstration to area youth at a community event. Enforcement action was taken for no waterfowl stamp, no license in possession, and insufficient PFDs.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked small-game activity and waterfowl opener. With many hunters not harvesting or seeing many ducks, it was a tough weekend for most. Sutherland worked with CO Holt and took enforcement action for hunting without a state waterfowl stamp and for hunting without a federal waterfowl stamp.
