District 6 - Two Harbors CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) checked anglers on area lakes and rivers. A few tried their luck for trout on inland streams before the closure for the year. ATV complaint areas were also worked.
CO Brent Ihnen (Ely #2) worked this week focusing on small-game and waterfowl- hunting activity. Ihnen also checked anglers and watercraft operators. Additional time was spent monitoring ATV and OHM activity.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) checked anglers on area lakes and rivers. A few tried their luck for trout on inland streams before the closure for the year. ATV complaint areas were also worked.
COHudsonLedeen(Hovland) spent the week patrolling trails, forests, and waterways. Many folks were contacted, and most people were following the regulations to a T. Nuisance bears continue to be a problem, and people are advised to keep food sources and attractants stored in a place that would not be accessible by bears. Enforcement action was taken for varying violations. CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked a variety of activities this week including recreational vehicles, anglers, small-game hunters, and waterfowl enforcement. A variety of violations were addressed, including hunting without a small-game license, transporting a loaded shotgun on an ATV, OHM violations, and use of live minnows on a trout lake. As a reminder, off-highway motorcycle use is prohibited on roadways. There has been a noticeable uptick in that activity as of late, particularly by juveniles, and those violations will be worked and enforced.
COMeganFranzen(Silver Bay) spent the week monitoring ATV and hunting activity. The weather was sunny and warm around the area throughout the week, and anglers on local trout lakes were reporting decent success. Grouse hunters were also reporting higher success than hunters of the past weeks. Enforcement action was taken for motor vehicles operating on ATV-only trails. COTrentAnderson(Tofte) focused on grouse-hunting and angling enforcement for the week. Enforcement action was taken on a variety of angling and small-game-related offenses. Bears are hungry and multiple nuisance-bear complaints have been fielded. Homeownersareencouraged to reduce bird feeding activity, remove natural foods, and secure garbage to limit attracting bears to residential areas.
CO Cassie Block (Two Harbors) spent time checking hunters and anglers in the area. Time was also spent patrolling for ATV activity. Block spent time training with K9 Jet as well.
District 5 - Eveleth area CO Paul Kennedy (International Falls #1) worked ATV and small-game activity throughout the week. He continued follow up on a big-game violation from last year. He also assisted local agencies on a report of a large grass fire. Enforcement action for the week included operating an ATV without headlights,operatinganATV on a state highway, and ATV operator and passenger under 18 without helmets.
CO Curtis Simonson (International Falls #2) reports working ATV, angling, and small-game hunting activity this past week. Many people were out recreating this past week with the warmer weather still lingering. Bird reports were low, and anglers reported having some success.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) checked waterfowl hunters with COC Jack Lien. They conducted sport fishing enforcement by watercraft and small-game activity by ATV. Time was spent assisting another agency in locating an individual. Due to higher temperatures this fall, smallgame activity was observed to be slow.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports duck hunting appeared nonexistent as clear sunny skies and temps in the 80s settled in for the week. ATV activities were monitored, and area forest roads were visited. Area lakes and public access sites continue to be visited. Grouse-hunting success remains light. Mosquitos remain persistent. Fire danger is back due to lack of rain.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spenttimethisweekchecking waterfowl hunters, monitoring ATV activity, and checking grouse hunters and anglers. It seemed a lot of people are waiting for fall-like weather to return before hunting hard, as it was unseasonably warm all week. Cannon also spent time assisting St. Louis County throughout the week, including a burglary in progress and a search for what ended up being a lost person deep in the woods East of Crane Lake. Cannon located the person lost. They were miles from their vehicle. Cannon was able to get them totheshoreofCraneLakeand arranged for St. Louis County personnel, searching by boat, to pick them up and get them safely back.
COAaronLarson(Tower) worked primarily angling, ATV, and small-game enforcement. Larson spent time checking grouse hunters and waterfowl hunters who were still having little success. Larson spent time checking anglers on Lake Vermilion, finding mixed bags with most people finding at least a few fish. Violations were primarily related to licenses and boating safety equipment.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarily worked small-game, ATV, and waterfowl enforcement. Time was also spent assisting local agencies and presenting at an ATV safety class in Hoyt Lakes. Violations encountered included speeding, operating OHMs on public roadways, and license/registration issues.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) reports unusually warm weather over the week brought back boating activity throughout the area. Surprisingly, duck numbers have increased over the week and hunters continue to have above-average success in the field. Several calls were fielded over the week pertaining to trespass and motorized boat use. With bear activity starting to ramp up, Zavodnik wantstoremindhomeowners to keep garbage indoors and take bird feeders down if possible.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring hunting, fishing, and ATV activity. Warmer weather this week brought out more anglers than hunters. Anglers reported moderate success. Grouse hunters continued to report seeing few birds. Few ducks were found in hunters’ bags. Waterfowl hunters are reminded, if using watercraft, to be sure to have life jackets.
District 7 - Grand Rapids CO Vinny Brown (Northome) checked grouse, duck, and bear hunters and spent time checking anglers. Numerous questions were answered regarding fall turkey, waterfowl, and deer hunting. CO Jayson Hansen (Bigfork) worked ATV, boating, big-game, waterfowl, 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 Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) worked waterfowl- and grouse-hunting activity over the last week with both group of hunters having very limited success with the warm weather. Sutherland took enforcement action for not having the proper stamps and licenses. He also issued multiple roadkilled deer tags and has been noticing more deer on the move with fall progressing.
CO Brian Holt (Grand Rapids) checked grouse hunters, waterfowl hunters, ATV riders, and big-game hunters throughout the previous week. Time was also spent monitoring AIS compliance in the area and monitoring boating safety. Grouse hunting may improve after high winds knocked down a lot of leaves over the weekend. Enforcement activity involved boating safety violations.
CO Jimmy Van Asch (Pengilly) worked angling, boating, waterfowl, and grouse activity throughout the surrounding areas. Waterfowl hunters struggled with the extremely warm weather. Enforcement action was taken for several license and hunting violations.
CO Taylor Hochstein (Hill City) patrolled area ATV trails and spoke with users who reported extremely dry and dusty conditions. Waterfowl hunters were also checked, and they are looking forward to the predicted cooldown in the forecast. Both big-game and small-game-related calls were looked into and enforcement action was taken for boating issues.
