Weekly CO report
District 5 - Eveleth area
Last updated: 2024-11-18
CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls #1) reports time was spent training COC Wehking and making contacts with various deer hunters in the area. Many reports were investigated, and big-game enforcement will continue to be the focus going into this next week.
CO Curtis Simonson (International Falls #2) reports spending time working the firearms deer season and checking anglers this past week. Hunting over bait and transporting loaded firearms continue to be common issues.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) reports deer hunters continued to take advantage of the temperate weather conditions and it has paid off for many. On the other end of the spectrum, lack of deer sightings in some areas has led to less enthusiastic efforts. Some commented that it is about the hunting camp tradition that keeps them coming back. One concerning observation was a lack of youth in the field.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports monitoring hunting activities with few hunters observed during the week and few deer harvested. Reports about the poor hunting and a lack of deer continued from hunters. Equipment work is ongoing. Administrative tasks continue. Open-water angling continues as all lakes in the work area are ice-free.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) continued working deer hunting this week. Cannon spoke with numerous hunters, most of whom reported low, but slightly improving, deer numbers. Follow up is being conducted on trespassing complaints, along with other issues. Possession permits were issued for several deer that were struck by vehicles as well.
CO Aaron Larson (Tower) worked primarily deer-hunting activity. Success was low throughout the week, with reports of few bucks being seen. He also spent time working illegal harvest of decorative materials and assisting other agencies. More and more grouse hunters seem to be showing up with good hunting conditions, and the birds having light hunting pressure due to most people still focusing on deer.
CO Shane Zavodnik (Virginia) spent time checking deer hunters, investigating trespass calls, and responding to an aircraft crash. Enforcement action was taken for hunting deer over bait, transporting illegally taken big game, and other big-game violations.
CO Duke Broughten (Aurora) spent the week monitoring deer-hunting, trapping, and ATV activity. Deer hunters continued to report limited success with several hunters saying they haven?t seen a deer. Broughten investigated complaints of littering and people hunting deer with bait. In one encounter, a person was found consuming alcohol in his blind while attempting to take a deer over corn. The individual didn?t believe he was doing anything wrong. Enforcement action was taken.
Hibbing vacant.