Area MnDNR Conservation Officer Weekly Reports - July 16, 2018

District 4 - Walker area

CO Duke Broughten (Longville) spent the week monitoring angling, boating, and ATV activity. Anglers reported limited success. Boating activity remained high this week. Broughten spent time investigating public waters and aquatic plant violations. He also assisted with training at the Conversation Officer Academy.

CO Colleen Adam (Park Rapids) worked on aquatic plant management issues, aquatic invasive species issues and nuisance animal complaints. She also patrolled area lakes for boating and fishing enforcement. Action was taken for no license in possession, insufficient personal flotation devices, no watercraft registration, and failure to display watercraft registration. She also assisted with an incident in which a person was injured while on a personal watercraft and assisted with the search for a missing teen.

CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) primarily checked anglers and boaters. Fishing was rather poor the past week. Many boaters were out enjoying the lakes with the warm weather. Enforcement action was taken for illegal-length walleye, an ATV violation, and several boating violations.

District 9 - Brainerd area

CO Karl Hadrits (Crosby) reports patrolling boating and fishing activity, the CCSRA, and state forest lands. Complaints of shoreline erosion, illegal jet ski operation, and transportation of zebra mussels were investigated, and issues of deer depredation on crops and car kill wildlife were responded to.

CO Jim Guida (Brainerd East) worked with cadets at the CO Academy at Camp Ripley. All-terrain vehicle operation was covered, including proper loading and unloading. A complaint about nuisance beavers was fielded.

CO Chelsey Best (Crosslake) focused on APM violations as well as boating, fishing and ATV activities. Enforcement action was taken for gunwale and transom riding, short PFDs, fishing license violations, removing aquatic vegetation without permits, no ATV safety, operating ATVs in wetlands and operating OHMs in the road right of way.

CO Patrick McGowan (Pine River) patrolled for watercraft and fishing activity throughout the week. McGowan also assisted at Camp Ripley with the current CO Academy. Enforcement action was taken for numerous boating violations.

CO Tim Collette (Brainerd) worked the Gull Chain and other area lakes. Violations included angling without a valid license, overloaded boat, lack of life preservers, riding on boat transoms and front decks of pontoons, kids under 10 not wearing life jackets, transporting aquatic vegetation and transporting zebra mussels.

CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) worked angling, boating, ATV, personal watercraft and invasive species activity. Aquatic vegetation and altering-the-cross-section-of-lakes cases were also worked.

CO Scott Fitzgerald (CCSRA) reports assisting at the Conservation Officer Academy with training the new COs during Recreational Vehicle week. The new COs learned operation and laws regarding recreational vehicles. Time was also spent answering questions regarding outdoor laws and patrol was done for AIS and ATV law violations.

District 10 - Mille Lacs area

CO Gregory Verkuilen (Garrison) worked lake activity. Warm water is causing the recreation to pick up but the fishing success to slow down. A lot of nonresidents are in the area and needing education on PWC restrictions, youth PFD requirements, and boat plugs. Verkuilen also assisted with a chain reaction highway crash and spoke at a hunter education class.

CO Dustie Speldrich (Willow River) assisted the sheriff’s office with a search for a drowning victim. She also patrolled state forests for ATV violations and followed up on an abandoned watercraft call.

CO Dan Starr (Onamia) worked fishing and boating activities. Extreme heat and thunderstorms hampered outdoor use. Numerous species of animals were found to be on the move this week, with road kill otters, deer, and rabbits becoming victims. ATV riders are reminded to be cautious when going through wet areas on the trails, as rutting can lead to trail closures.

CO Luke Croatt (Wealthwood) assisted with Academy ATV training and scenarios. Heavy rains have not helped the wild rice and only time will tell how it will affect this year’s crop. Time was also spent investigating an invasive species complaint.

District 11 - St. Cloud area

CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) and CO Chad Thesing (Albany) finished an investigation that all started with Conservation Officer Candidate Fitzgerald from the CO Academy spotting two “fresh” deer hides in the back of a truck. A major deer case was initiated from this sighting and resulted in charges from last deer season for lend/borrow a youth’s deer license and taking an antlerless deer in a lottery deer area without a permit.

CO Caleb Silgjord (Sauk Centre) spent time during the week checking anglers. The panfish are still cooperating on many area lakes and most people out trying their luck were seen with some fish. Assistance was provided to CO Bertram with a deer complaint and AIS issues were addressed.

CO Frank Rezac (St. Cloud) reports checking anglers and working boat and water enforcement. During the week he also spoke at an area youth hunter education firearms safety class and assisted with Academy training at Camp Ripley. Enforcement contacts were made for angling without an angling license, possession of smallmouth bass within the protected slot limit, and watercraft equipment and registration violations.

CO Keith Bertram (Long Prairie) spent the week checking area lakes and working calls. Enforcement action was taken for no fishing license, no PFDs, boat registration violations, operating PWCs during closed hours, and no weed roller permits. Nuisance beaver permits were also issued.

District 12 - Princeton area

CO Angela Londgren (Cambridge) checked boaters, anglers, and ATV riders. Time was also spent working at public accesses conducting invasive species checks. Londgren followed up on wetland and public waters violations as well.

CO Mike Krauel (Mora) spent the week working boat and water safety and angling activity. Krauel also spent time working on boat maintenance. Krauel also worked a fireworks detail on an area lake. Enforcement action was taken for boating while intoxicated, possession of marijuana, no life jacket, no fishing license, illegal-length fish, and no fishing license in possession.

CO Tony Musatov (Sauk Rapids) checked anglers and boaters. Violations were found for no angling license and possession of drug paraphernalia. ATV complaint areas were worked and animal complaints were handled.

Aviation Section

NR Pilot Brad Maas (Brainerd) continued with preparations for aerial spraying of cattails. He also worked on helicopter maintenance and flew a forestry storm damage assessment northeast of Bemidji. Maas also did refresher training in the helicopter with one pilot.

NR Pilot John Heineman (Bemidji) flew multiple sketch mapping flights and a wolf telemetry search. Heineman also gave two annual low-level waiver check rides to DNR pilots. Furthermore, Heineman did night currency in the airplane.

Water Resource Enforcement Officers

WREO Robert Haberman (North Central) spent time training cadets at Camp Ripley for EVOC training. TIP calls were investigated and cases followed up on.

WREO Leah Weyandt (Central) helped dispatch for Academy scenario day at Camp Ripley. A cease and desist order was served for irrigating crops without a permit. A restoration order was served for violations that took place in a wetland. 

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Joe Albert, Communications coordinator | Division of Enforcement