2/8/2007

Conservation officer tales - February 2007

TALK ABOUT A STRANGE WINTER

Conservation officers (CO) encountered a boat pulling a waterskier on Pool 2 of the Mississippi River.

PICK UP OR STEAKS?

CO Marty Stage (Babbitt) wondered why someone would risk their pickup truck for a handful of deer tags and some frozen deer steaks after he seized a four-wheel-drive vehicle as evidence in a deer-poaching case.

The poacher apparently had shot a deer with a bow where it was feeding on oats left by a cabin owner. The owner discovered the deer's remains on his septic mound and called authorities. Stage matched the pickup with tire tracks, deer hair and blood found at the scene, and he seized the vehicle on Christmas Eve.

Stage reports the poacher "received a very generous Christmas deal" and his truck in exchange for confessing to the crime.

A HAPPY ENDING

CO Tim Gray of Blackduck reported a car-moose collision near Waskish had a happy ending for several local residents who salvaged and butchered the animal after dragging it out of the swamp.

WE DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE YOU AGAIN

CO Jeff Birchem (Baudette) worked with officers from Baudette and Thief River Falls on Lake of the Woods. After checking anglers all day, officers decided to check an area that had been checked that morning. Several anglers, who said they did not expect to be checked twice in one day, were cited for fishing with extra lines.

DOG WATCH

CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) stopped at a fish house and was greeted by a dog outside the fish house. When the dog on the inside of the fish house heard the dog outside barking it pushed the fish house door open. That revealed two fishermen sitting, jigging two lines with four more lines in the water.

ANGLER WITH AN OVER LIMIT OF PHEASANTS

A routine check of an angler leaving the lake with his limit of crappies led CO Jeff Johanson (Osakis) to an interview and a consent search of the angler's residence, which produced violations for overlimit of crappies and pheasants.

YOU'LL REMEMBER NEXT TIME

CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) discovered an angler had three lines down in his fish house. When asked why, the angler stated that earlier his friends were at the house with him and when they left he forgot to bring the extra lines up. A citation was given to help him remember next time.

THEN WHY IF YOUR ATV AND TRUCK FELL THROUGH SAME SPOT

Officer Dale Ebel (Duluth) reported a truck's rear bumper prevented it from falling completely through the ice. The owner thought the ice had improved from the previous week. When asked why, he thought that the man said that two weeks earlier he drove his ATV on the same lake and fell through. When asked where his ATV fell through the ice, the man pointed to the same spot where the truck had gone through.

WORTHY OF APPLAUSE

CO Mike Scott (Lake Superior Marine Unit) found a herring gull floundering in and around the water's edge. After catching the bird, he discovered the gull had an artificial lure attached to him with one hook in the nostril and the other in the left foot. Some delicate work by the officer with a multi-tool removed the lure and the bird soared away.

IT WAS MORE THAN A CHRISTMAS TREE

On New Year's Day an individual doing some burning told CO Paul Kuske (Pierz) it was only a Christmas tree. The officer discovered besides the tree, there were four mattresses, a large pile of household garbage and miscellaneous debris on fire. The local fire department was called to extinguish the pile and a court date was given to the person.

ON A LAKE NEAR RICHMOND

CO Rob Haberman (St. Cloud) noticed an individual running out of his icehouse and dumping a bucket of fish on the ice. The individual then grabbed a handful of sunfish, returned to the fish house, and tossed the fish back down the ice hole. Haberman instructed the individual to stop. When questioned, the man stated that he dumped the fish because he did not think he and his brother could keep them all in the same bucket. Haberman explained that he could keep all the fish in one bucket while party fishing. Law enforcement action was taken.

THIS FISHING TRIP IS OVER

CO Corey Wiebusch (Mankato) checked two anglers who had walked about a half mile through the snow and cold wind to get to their favorite spot. They caught two nice sized bass in the fifteen minutes they were there before the officer arrived. Wiebusch stood outside the unlicensed portable fish house listening to the couple talk about their fishing. When contact was made it was revealed neither had a license. Citations were issued as the two were advised their fishing trip was over.

COMPLIMENT AFTER COMPLIMENT

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reported a DNR aircraft was used to direct COs on the ground to where the ice fishing action was. The plane was also used to check some groups on remote lakes. CO Pilot Don Murray received compliment after compliment, as many people were very happy to see the airplane out doing enforcement work.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY LAKE?

CO Mary Manning (Grand Marais) surprised one group of unsuspecting anglers on trout opener. She arrived on the remote lake shortly after dark to find a small group of ice shelters right off the portage. She shut down her sled and an angler emerged from his shelter declaring, "This is a private party. What are you doing on my lake?" to which Manning replied, "This is the game warden. What are you doing on my lake?" All were suddenly quiet when they realized she was not kidding. Enforcement action was taken for angling without a license in possession.

FUZZY MATH

CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) received a TIP call that led to an overlimit of northern pike. The three fishermen had a difficult time counting their fish, possibly due in part to the amount of alcohol that had been consumed.

COSTLY WASTE

While checking fishermen, CO Mike Lee (Isle) came upon an unoccupied shelter with 20 small perch lying outside. The fish appeared to have been out on the ice for an extended period of time. The owner of the house was located and issued a citation for wanton waste with fines and restitution exceeding $600.

11 LINES DOWN

CO Nate Barington (Litchfield) took a TIP complaint that lead to the checking of two ice houses that each had an angler. The first angler had six lines down while the second had five lines down.

DOG GONE IT

CO Tim Collette (Longville) responded to a call of a pickup that had broken through the ice while crossing an ice ridge and was partially submerged. The driver ended up in the water but was able to get out and walk a mile and half to shore in sub-zero wind chills. A tow truck was called to get the truck out and after arriving at the pickup the operator's dog fell through the ice and couldn't get out. Ignoring orders to wait for a rope to get the dog, the tow operator walked out and fell through himself. The officer was able to pull the man out and a board was extended to the dog. Eventually all involved arrived safely back at shore.

DANGEROUS ASSIST

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) provided assistance to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department after shots were fired at deputies from a house in the area. The suspect was arrested after an eight-hour stand off.

16-YEAR-OLD CHARGED WITH DWI

CO Adam Block (Prior Lake) observed a vehicle pull into an access point with an open bottle violation early one morning. The 16-year-old driver indicated she was the sober designated driver for the evening. After further investigation, the driver was turned over to Shakopee Police and arrested for DWI; the two passengers were cited for underage consumption.