Conservation officers report

Conservation Officer Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) took a call in the Schroeder area of dogs chasing deer. He also worked trout anglers in the BWCA and walleye anglers along the Canadian border. The fish did not seem to be cooperating, although the walleye caught were nicer in size. He also spent time reviewing firearm safety materials for an upcoming class. Enforcement action was taken for no fishing licenses in possession, no trout stamp, and improper display of snowmobile registration.CO Brad Johnson (Silver Bay) checked snowmobiles throughout the week. Snow on the North Shore is beginning to melt. A few anglers were fishing from the shore on Lake Superior when ice was not jamming the rivers along the shore. CO Johnson found a dead wolf on Kitigan Lake during his patrols. Investigation revealed that the wolf was radio collared and tagged. The wolf was the breeding female from one of the local packs and had been killed by other wolves, most likely from a neighboring pack.CO Kipp Duncan (Two Harbors) attended a wildfire safety refresher class, checked ice fishing on area lakes, and patrolled the North Shore for shore fishing, but ice conditions on Lake Superior has slowed most shore fishing. He continued to patrol snowmobile trails in the area. Officer Duncan attended a local snowmobile club board meeting and discussed trail issues, safety concerns, and talked about what enforcement action has been taking place on area trails over the snowmobile season. CO Marty Stage (Babbitt) worked fishermen and dealt with dogs chasing deer. One call consisted of three dogs chasing a doe into the woods between some houses. The deer held off the dogs, but was badly hurt. Officer contacted all the dog owners who promptly locked up their dogs and all seemed surprised that their dogs would ever chase a deer. This is often the case with dog owners, and Stage reminds owners that it is the dog's nature to chase deer. With the hard snow crust, the dog can run on top of the snow crust, but the deer sinks in. At a minimum the deer becomes exhausted. Additionally, the does are now pregnant and the hairless fawns are mostly developed. Please avoid enforcement action and help our deer out by being a responsible pet owner.CO Mike Lekatz (Ely) worked checks on area crappie lakes for activity. Anglers are having some success with some limits of nice crappies being taken. He tried to work some checks on BWCAW trout lake activity. There were quite a few dog sled teams in the BWCAW this past weekend, about the busiest weekend so far this season. Lekatz also worked some checks on snowmobile activity, which is pretty much done for the season. Lakes conditions are still good but the trails are starting to deteriorate in places. ATV's are starting to make an appearance around the station as conditions change.