District 15 - Marshall area



CO Ed Picht (Montevideo) reports pheasant opener is off to a slow start. Waterfowl hunting is still slow. Hopes are high that the weekend’s snow will bring some birds down. Violations include using an archery bonus deer tag in a lottery area, no pheasant stamp, no small game license, and burning prohibited materials.



CO Neil Henriksen (Benson) reports enforcement time was sent checking fishermen, hunters and ATV operators. The waterfowl hunting remained slow this past week. The West-Central zone remains closed to the taking of Canada geese till October 15th, and then closes again on the 18th. The pheasant season has had a slow start.



CO Matt Loftness (Marshall) reports the pheasant opener was quiet with a lot of the soybeans and corn still not harvested. One group of pheasant hunters that didn’t let the slow opener affect them was a big group from Hawaii, California, Florida, and Colorado. Although they were a little cold and the pheasants didn’t cooperate they still had a good time. Waterfowl hunters continue to struggle with low numbers of ducks in the area. Mixed bags of mallards, teal, wood ducks, shovelers, and geese are still being seen. Investigations continue in reference to trespassing and other illegal hunting activities. Enforcement action was taken for taking pheasants before legal hours and license and stamp violations.



CO Craig Miska (Ortonville) worked a busy pheasant opener. Many hunters endured cold, snowy, and windy conditions. Success was varied, with some groups of hunters bagging their daily limit. Duck hunting activity was also monitored. Infractions for the week included no pheasant stamp, unplugged shotgun, and no HIP certification.



CO Jim Robinson (Slayton) spent the week checking hunters. Pheasant Opener harvest was only fair on Saturday but poor for most hunters on Sunday. Corn and beans in the field are probably holding most birds. Very few ducks were seen in the area. Enforcement action was taken for trespass, toxic shot, no blaze orange, possess hen pheasant and license/stamp/registration violations.



CO Gary Nordseth (Worthington) reports a large number of pheasant hunters in the area for the opener. With almost all cornfields still standing, most hunters had moderate success at best. Violations encountered included no blaze orange and taking pheasants during prohibited hours.



Madison - vacant.



Redwood Falls - vacant.



District 16 - New Ulm area



CO Jim Steffen (Willmar) spent the week checking anglers, duck and goose hunters, archery hunters and recreational vehicle riders. Duck hunting remains quite slow in the area. Pan fish are biting on area lakes as well as walleyes in some areas. Time was also spent preparing for a court case and returning phone calls related to hunting seasons.



CO Wayne Hatlestad (Litchfield) checked waterfowl, pheasant, and archery deer hunting activity. Additional time was spent checking angling and boating activity. Hatlestad also enforced state forestry fire laws, patrolled WMAs/WPAs, and checked ATV activity.



CO Eric Schettler (Fairmont) worked opening of pheasant hunting. Reports of birds were slim to none. Waterfowl hunting activity continues to be strong. Site inspections of excavation in a public waters area resulted in Cease and Desist orders being issued. Assistance was given to local law enforcement. WMA and WPA areas were patrolled.



CO Jeff Denz (Willmar) primarily focused on waterfowl and pheasant hunters. Some pheasants and an increased number of ducks were seen in the bag; however, few waterfowl hunters were out. He followed up on a variety of complaints including dumping of waterfowl carcasses, hunting in a refuge, late shooting, and trespassing.



CO Mike Gruhlke (Jackson) worked the pheasant opener as well as duck and fishing seasons. The pheasant hunter numbers were down compared to years past, but the take was decent, with some groups doing well. The duck numbers are still down in the county. Gruhlke also assisted at an ATV class that was sponsored by the Sioux Valley 4-H club. He gave a law talk at the class. He also completed his radio program with KKOJ/KRAQ discussing topics including hunting safety and pheasant opener.



CO Angela Graham (Hutchinson) reports that waterfowl hunters have had an increased success rate the past week on local lakes, while the numbers of pheasants harvested locally appeared to be low. Officer Graham also followed up on several car-killed deer reports, a trespassing complaint, and injured animal calls. Anglers and ATVs were also checked. Enforcement action was taken on transporting loaded firearms, fail to display ATV registration, no federal duck stamp, unplugged gun, operate ATV without safety certificate, shooting from a motor vehicle, and transporting illegally taken small game.



CO Brett Oberg (Hutchinson) continues to focus on waterfowl enforcement in the area. CO Oberg reports more divers moving into the area with several hundred ring necks seen on area lakes. CO Oberg checked several limits of ducks with gadwall, widgeon and teal being the most common ducks in the bag. Time was also spent answering questions relating to waterfowl hunting hour change over the weekend. CO Oberg also worked a busy pheasant opener. One Waterfowl Production Area had 30 vehicles parked around it. CO Oberg reports checking only a couple limits of pheasants.



CO Greg Abraham (New Ulm) reports pheasant opener was fair; virtually all the corn still unharvested. Duck hunting was again poor. Good walleye bite going on area lakes. Archery deer hunting success is improving.



Windom - vacant.



District 17 - Mankato area



CO Tom Hutchins (Albert Lea) reports assisting the Wildlife and Fisheries Divisions with the Pickerel Lake rotenone treatment. Time was also spent checking duck, pheasant, and deer hunters. An illegal fire was investigated. Violations included various license violations and unplugged shotguns.



CO Julie Siems (Faribault) reports working mostly waterfowl and pheasant hunters. Both the numbers for pheasant hunters and birds shot was down significantly. Assistance was given at a rotenone project on Pickerel Lake in Albert Lea. Assistance was given to the sheriff’s office on a boat that was left at a public access with a note on it: “I’m sorry, I just can’t keep the boat anymore.” The owner was ultimately tracked down. A shotgun was also found at a local access; the owner is still unknown. Violations include no license in possession and no PFD.



CO Corey Wiebusch (Mankato) concentrated his efforts this past week checking waterfowl hunting activity in the station. Time was also spent on administrative duties and equipment maintenance.



CO Chris Howe (St. Peter) worked small game and waterfowl activity this week; some still out doing some angling. Pheasant opener was slow in the area, with very few birds seen in the bag. Waterfowling continues to be slow in the area. CO Howe assisted with the Pickerel Lake area rotenone treatment in the Albert Lea area. COs Howe, Geving, and Ihnen responded to a report of poachers shooting coot from a bass boat. The two youngsters responsible were apprehended, and enforcement action was taken for a variety of included offenses.



CO Bob Geving (Mankato) gave a law & ethic presentation for a firearm safety class. Geving worked pheasant and waterfowl activities. Hunters for both reporting poor results. Enforcement actions included; no small game license, shooting from moving motorboat, transport loaded gun in moving vehicle, and taking waterfowl in open water.



CO Phil George (Mantorville) checked waterfowl and deer hunters during the week. The opening day of pheasant hunting brought a light dusting of snow. Took complaint of waterfowl hunters hunting past the 4:00pm closing. Enforcement action was taken for possession of toxic shot and hunting during closed hours.



CO Brent Ihnen (Waseca) spent time checking waterfowl and deer hunters. Officer Ihnen also checked pheasant hunters for the opening of the 2009 season. Bird numbers in the bag were lower than expected, with success being limited. In addition, CO Ihnen as well as other area officers assisted with a rotenone application near Albert Lea. Enforcement action taken this week for hunting w/out license, unplugged shotgun, failure to register deer, illegal possession of big game w/out license, and litter.



Spring Valley - vacant.



District 18 - Rochester area



CO Tom Hemker (Winona) reports a good migration of waterfowl came into the area. He worked waterfowl and pheasant opener in western MN. Duck hunting was good but pheasant opener appeared to be poor with well under a bird per hunter. Hemker spoke at two different high school wildlife classes about job duties and hunting regulations.



CO Dan McBroom (Rochester) spent the week on small game, archery hunting, waterfowl and misc. wildlife complaints. Goose hunting in the Rochester area is starting to pickup with more birds flying and more crops out. The pheasant opener had perfect weather with cool temperatures. A lot of hunters where out but few birds were seen. A hunter harassment complaint was received and it hopefully has been resolved. Violations included unsigned federal stamp, hunt waterfowl with toxic shot, hunt waterfowl with gun capable of holding more than three shells, and no pheasant stamp.



CO Kevin Prodzinski (Zumbrota) reports working a very busy fall haunting and fishing weekend. The ducks have ranged from limits to being skunked with everything from canvasback and bufflehead to wood ducks and blue wing teal. Most interesting was five subjects who were contacted while they were snagging with double treble hooks on each line which they would cast into the deep pools after chasing the fish into them by throwing large rocks into the shallow and riffles.



CO Tyler Quandt (Red Wing) reports working small game, waterfowl, fishing and shining activity this past week and weekend. The fall fishing in the area is picking up and there have been ducks around on a few days. Some waterfowl, fishing and shining violations were detected.



CO Joel Heyn (Plainview) worked hunters and anglers during the week. Both anglers and duck hunters had good success. Lots of ducks moved into the area and numerous violations were encountered.



CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) reports checking deer hunters during the early antlerless season. Success was fair to good for most hunters and the cool weather kept hunters in the woods. Small game hunters and pheasant hunters were also checked. Violations encountered were no blaze orange, no pheasant stamp, no small game license and trespassing.



CO Scott Fritz (LaCrescent) reports the recent cold weather and high winds brought in a good number of new ducks. Hunters averaged 3-6 birds per hunter. It was a mixed bag of waterfowl that had moved into the area. Plenty of pressure once again on the state lands during the two day early antlerless season. He assisted a Houston County deputy with a deer trespass case. Other enforcement included helping with a gross misdemeanor deer shining case. Met with the participants at the first Kicking Bear mentor hunt. Walleye and sauger bite is getting better each week.