Lake County Conservation Officers Report Weekly Activity Across Region

Conservation officers across Northeast Minnesota's Arrowhead region spent the week of March 11 patrolling lakes, snowmobile trails, and public accesses as late-winter conditions pushed enforcement priorities in competing directions: warming temperatures accelerating fish house removal deadlines in some districts while trail crews scrambled to keep pace with heavy snowmobile traffic near Ely.

CO Sean Williams, based out of Ely, reported that trail conditions "improved greatly over the week as crews finally caught up," even as "snowmobile traffic was again high into the weekend following a wild swing in temperatures." Williams issued citations for failure to display snowmobile registration and for snowmobile speed. His District 6 colleague CO Brent Ihnen spent time checking anglers and monitoring fish house compliance on area lakes and accesses before attending training at Camp Ripley.

Along the North Shore, CO Trent Anderson out of Tofte reported that "trail conditions were quite good despite heavy use" and took enforcement action for a variety of angling and snowmobile-related violations. CO Cassie Block in Two Harbors patrolled snowmobile trails and responded to complaints while completing training. CO Megan Franzen, based in Silver Bay, monitored angling and snowmobile activity and worked alongside other officers on Lake of the Woods, where various angling and snowmobile regulation violations were encountered.

In the International Falls area, CO Paul Kennedy assisted with a Lake of the Woods detail, attended an awards ceremony at Camp Ripley, and worked the annual Sportfishing Club's Ice Fishing Derby on Rainy Lake, issuing enforcement actions for angling and snowmobile registration violations. CO Curtis Simonson reported that while anglers were finding some success on area lakes and rivers, snowmobile trail conditions remained uneven, with some portions of trail systems having become rough and lost snow.

Farther west, the fish house removal deadline dominated activity for several officers. CO Andrew Goodman out of Perham reported that all area lakes were cleared of ice shelters, though panfish fishing had slowed due to rapidly changing weather patterns. Goodman also served resource protection notices and restoration orders on wetland and public water cases. CO Angela Warren in Mahnomen noted that "warmer weather has melted most of the snow and lakes have a lot of standing water," with fish houses still being pulled from the ice. Warren reminded anglers that fish houses cannot be left at public accesses, and she also worked ATV and snowmobile activity at the Snodeo event near Naytahwaush.

CO Tricia Plautz in Henning monitored the fish house removal deadline and found several houses still on area lakes until the final day, though overall compliance was good with all structures off by the deadline. Anglers were out chasing panfish in the warmer weather. CO Hanna Wood in Fergus Falls worked angling activity and fielded complaints about trapping and fish houses left past their deadline.

The hazard of changing ice conditions materialized in one reported incident: CO Chris Vinton in Perham responded after a shelter went through the ice on Rush Lake, issuing a reminder that "ice is never safe." CO Mitch Lawler in Alexandria cited anglers for no license, extra lines, unattended lines, and possessing drugs, and separately cited multiple snowmobile operators for expired registration.

CO Tom Hutchins in Crookston staffed a TIP trailer at a local sports show alongside angler checks and wildlife complaints, while CO Bill Landmark in Moorhead split time between monitoring fish house removal south of Highway 10 and working the TIP trailer at the Red River Valley Sportsmen's Show in the Fargo/Moorhead area.

Anyone with questions about the weekly reports can contact Enforcement Division communications coordinator Joe Albert at 651-587-4679.