District 2 - Bemidji area

Last updated: 2013-05-07

CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports meeting with the Polk County Sheriff?s Office to discuss summer recreational vehicle issues around local lakes. Time was also spent meeting with an area watershed district to discuss nuisance beavers. Most of the lakes remain ice covered. More shore anglers are starting to venture out to fish open water locations in area creeks and rivers.

CO Dan Malinowski (Fosston) attended a sportsman club meeting and training at Camp Ripley. The snowmobile was finally put away. He received calls with concerns about wolves, cougar and beaver. The officer also received two calls he had never had before. The first was a family wanting beaver brought to a pond on their property (calls are usually to get rid of beaver). The second call was about an unidentified bird. You know it has been a long winter when the officer identifies a ptarmigan so far south.

CO Tim Gray (Bagley) spent the week at Camp Ripley teaching at annual in-service training.

CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) monitored angling activity in the area. A few anglers are still venturing out onto the lakes chasing pan fish. An annual in service training was attended at Camp Ripley.

CO Brian Holt (Bemidji) received complaints of nuisance beavers, wolf depredation, and an ice house on a lake. Wildlife management areas and closed state forest roads were monitored. CO Holt also attended annual training at Camp Ripley.

CO Chris Vinton (Detroit Lakes) reports assisting with flood response in Moorhead as the Red River spilled over its banks. CO Vinton also assisted training with Ecological Services in trailer towing of the decontamination trailers. CO Vinton also worked complaints of minnow trappers blocking a stream with traps and received several calls about dead deer. He also patrolled area rivers for fish run.

CO Phil Seefeldt (Moorhead) spent the week assisting the Clay County SO with flood patrols. Conservation Officers were staffed for potential emergency response with watercraft during the rise of the Buffalo and Red rivers. CO Seefeldt attended the Barnesville and Ulen youth firearms safety classes where he gave presentations on hunting laws. He also assisted CO Forsberg with the removal of the remnants of a burned fish house on Pelican Lake with use of an airboat.

CO Al Peterson (Osage) spent the week checking anglers and patrolling fish run locations. Ice conditions continue to deteriorate making conditions unsafe. CO Peterson taught use of force at annual in-service training at Camp Ripley.

CO Gary Forsberg (Pelican Rapids) spent time assisting with flood duty in Moorhead. He also checked the few fishermen that were still venturing out onto area lakes. Turkey hunters were also checked. Follow up was done on dogs chasing deer, litter left from fish houses, straw dumped on an area, waters violations and dead eagles. CO Forsberg assisted a party that called in regards to a wood chuck stuck in his vehicle engine. After much poking and pulling the wood chuck was finally removed.

WREO Joe Stattelman spent the week teaching Use of Force at in-service. Time was spent on site visits for WCA violations and completing paperwork.

Perham - vacant.