Conservation officer tales

Minnesota Conservation Officer Tales - May 2008

I'm going for some fresh air, dear

While checking a group of four fishermen on Lake of the Woods, CO Robert Gorecki (Baudette) noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the fish house. When questioned about this, two of the men produced marijuana and marijuana pipes. One of the men stated he was fishing in a portable fish house nearby with his wife, and asked if he could go back there to continue fishing since he did not possess any marijuana, and was only "visiting." After issuing citations to that group, CO Gorecki went to the portable house to check the husband and wife's fish. When the discussion returned to the marijuana incident, the wife became quite upset with the husband. Apparently the husband told his wife that he was ?going for some fresh air.?

A fowl story

CO Mike Shelden (Alexandria) interviewed an individual who was observed swerving towards the shoulder of the roadway to run over a Canada goose with his pickup. The driver admitted he had swerved to run the goose over because, "It's only a goose." The individual was charged with killing the goose and also charged restitution for the goose.

Must be a Texas thing

CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) followed up on a TIP call of a person riding in the bed of a pickup truck hunting with an uncased bow. Contact was made with the hunter and it was determined that the individual was hunting rabbits and squirrel from the pickup with his bow. The hunter went on to say that he often hunts this way in his home state of Texas and was following in the footsteps of his grandfather who holds the record for the largest armadillo taken in Texas with a bow.