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District 6 - Two Harbors
CO Sean Williams (Ely 1) reports: hot weather continued over the week and fishing and boating activity spiked as people flocked to local lakes. Fishing reports were overall good as water temperatures increased in the summer heat. Violations included: taking trout with no stamp, no PFDs on board a watercraft, and taking fish with no license in possession.
CO Brent Ihnen (Ely) patrolled this week for fishing and boating activity. Officer Ihnen also checked ATV/OHM riders.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked anglers, boaters and responded to complaints in the area. The officer assisted the county and patrolled ATV trails. Enforcement action was taken for watercraft and ATV violations.
CO Hudson Ledeen (Grand Marais 2) spent the week patrolling angling and ATV activities. Water temps on Lake Superior are starting to improve and anglersarefeelingoptimisticaboutthe fish moving into the area. Equipment maintenance was performed.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) spent time patrolling station lakes and continued to deal with two people occupying public forest land, with citations issued for camping more than 14 consecutive days. A nuisance beaver permit was issued, and time was spent planning for disposal of an abandoned boat.
CO Don Murray (Two Harbors) worked ATV and boating activity during the week. Warm weather brought out ahigh number of watercraft users to area lakes. Canoeists and kayakers are reminded that PFDs are required on all watercraft regardless of how far out in the lake you intend to go. Enforcement action was taken for ATV operation in closed areas.
District 5 - Eveleth area
CO Curtis Simonson (Int’l Falls #2) reports spending time this past week working area lakes and rivers. ATV activity was monitored and nuisance animal complaints were taken. Enforcement action taken this past week consisted of illegal operation of youth ATV riding, illegal length walleyes, and various boating safety equipment violations.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) Angling and boating activity continue to be steady in the area. The warmer temperatures brought more of the boating and swimming crowd out. Angling success was reported to be abit tougher and the biting flies on boats was a common complaint. Problem bears continue to be reported as the berry forage seems to be lagging and not very productive.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) continues dealing with bear problems. Time was devoted to beaver-related complaints. Angling and boating activities were monitored.Fishingremainspoor,with little observed caught. Forest roads and public access sites were checked. Spare timewasspentonadministrativetasks and equipment work.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spent time monitoring angling, boating and ATV activity this week. CO Cannon assisted in searching for a boat that was adrift after its operator, who was out alone, fell out the previous night on Lake Vermilion. The boat was in gear, so it drove away by itself and the operator (who was not wearing the kill switch lanyard or life jacket) was luckily able to swim the distance to shore. The boat was located after an extensive search and towed back to the owner. Time was also spent working on equipment.
CO Aaron Larson (Tower) worked primarily angling enforcement. Time was spent checking anglers on Lake Vermilion, the Eagles Nest Lakes, Lost Lake, and lakes in the BWCAW. Larson also worked on nuisance beaver complaints and checked ATV activity. Violations were primarily related to angling licenses and boating safety equipment.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) Time was spent instructing CO cadets at Camp Ripley during watercraft operating week. Additional time was spent presenting various water related rules and regulations to a Lake Association group and handling squatter issues on state land.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring fishing, boating, and ATV activity. Warmer temperatures brought out more boaters. Fishermen continued to report limited success. CO Broughten also fielded calls regarding OHM registration, filling public waters, and nuisance animals.
Water Resource Enforcement
WREO Luke Belgard (SW) worked angling, boating, and ATV enforcement this week. Time was spent with ongoing wetland and waters cases. Local public access sites were monitored for AIS violations.
WREO Joe Stattelman (NW) spent the week checking boaters for AIS compliance and started work on background assignments. It was a busy week of fielding WCA and PW cases and complaints from the field and COs. Several LGUs and Hydros calls with activity and case questions.
WREO Dustie Speldrich (North Metro) assisted with awolf depredation investigation. P ublic a ccesses w ere checked for AIS violations and public watersandwetlandcaseswereupdated.
Aviation Section
CO Pilot Charles Scott (Grand Rapids) completed sketch mapping flights and performed unit training flights. Aircraft maintenance was also attended to.
CO Pilot Tim Gray (Bemidji) flew several survey flights for local fisheries offices and a wildlife study flight listening for radio collared wood ducks. CO Pilot Gray also assisted at the CO Academy as a safety diver during watercraft training.
NR Pilot Brad Maas (Brainerd) worked on ongoing aircraft maintenance planning and cattail spray preparations and also completed administrative tasks.
NR Pilot Gracie Zeller (Brainerd) started aerial application for the invasive cattail spray project near Roseau. All the areas near Roseau were completed and the helicopter was ferried to Thief River Falls for the next section of work.
Enforcement Education
Please check the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov for a current class listing of all DNR Enforcement Education Courses and instructor training sessions.
If you missed a fall class and are over 18, check online for the online course information. (It’s also at www. mndnr.gov.)
Please check the DNR website www. mndnr.gov for a current class listing of all DNR Enforcement Youth and Adult Snowmobile Safety Courses and instructor training sessions.
Please direct questions to 1-800-3668917 or 1-888-MINNDNR.
Reminder: Anyone born after December 31, 1979 cannot purchase a license to hunt in Minnesota without first taking a DNR Safety Training Course and receiving a certificate. In addition, many states have even more stringent mandatory Hunter Education requirements. Check before you go!
Reminder: Any resident born after December 31, 1976, who operates a snowmobileinMinnesotamustpossess a snowmobile certificate. Two options are available to complete certification. Ages 11 and older can take the online course and hands-on day or attend the traditional youth course. Those 16 or older can take the online course.
Reminder: Anyone born after July 1, 1987, who operates an ATV on public lands and waters in Minnesota must successfully complete the ATV Safety Training online course. People under age 16 must complete the ATV online course and riding component before riding on public lands.
Please direct questions to 1-800-3668917 or 1-888-MINNDNR.
If you are 18 or older and would like to become an instructor for Snowmobile Safety, ATV Safety, Firearms Safety, Trail Ambassador or one of the Advanced Hunterprograms,contactyour local conservation officer or regional safety training officer.
