Bob CollinsTrue to our mission to provide glimpses into the daily lives of people who don’t make the news, we provide these nuggets from this week’s conservation officer reports filed with the Department of Natural Resources.
CO Tim Collette (Brainerd) checked anglers and boaters on area lakes, issued nuisance beaver permits and handled a road kill bear. He also responded to a call of naked jet skiers circling pontoons full of people. The officer contacted the jet skiers and the boat operating dangerously with them. Multiple charges are pending.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) reports lots of boating activity during the hot weather, with some angling activity occurring in the mornings and evenings. Landmark assisted teaching game week at the Academy where big game and small game laws were taught to the new officers. Landmark also conducted compliance checks on weed rollers and hydro sweeps with the local aquatic plant manager and worked boat and water safety activity with CO Hutchins. While on patrol, Landmark observed emergent vegetation piled on a dock. Upon further inspection, he found the homeowner had removed wild rice from the lake without a permit because it made them feel like they lived on a swamp. Enforcement action was taken for removal of wild rice without a permit, angling without a license, children under 10 without life jackets, and other boat and water safety violations.
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) assisted with the security detail in Duluth for Vice President Mike Pence?s visit. While patrolling Fredin came upon two individuals pulling large boulders with a truck from a U.S. Forest Service barricade that is in place to keep out motor vehicles. Enforcement action was taken and they were required to put the boulders back but. They found the task much harder having to pull boulders uphill to replace them. Some parents with their children riding ATVs without helmets were encountered. Reminder: Anyone under 18 must wear a helmet.
CO Luke Croatt (Wealthwood) checked anglers on area lakes and Mille Lacs Lake. An unfortunate incident occurred when an angler was backing his trailer into the Mississippi River. The man?s foot slipped off the brake pedal while he was half in the vehicle, sending him falling as the vehicle moved backward. He rolled out of the way while his pickup backed into the river and became submerged. A diver was called and the vehicle was removed.
CO Kylan Hill (Zumbrota) reports finishing up ongoing small-game and big-game cases. A lake service provider was contacted after it was found that some of their staff were working without the required AIS training. Enforcement action was also taken against the provider for failing to provide their customers with life jackets. Hill provided a ride-along opportunity for a local college student interested in the career of a CO. Assistance was given to a local law enforcement agency with an intoxicated person. The subject?s alcohol content at the scene was 4.5 times the legal limit.
