Wisconsin Outdoor News Cuffs & Collars – Nov. 2, 2018

District 1 — Ashland area

Wardens Phil Brown, of Iron River, and Mark Little, of Spooner, contacted two individuals in an UTV for failure to have a rear plate on the UTV. Brown and Little discovered that the UTV was not registered, the operator didn’t have a nonresident trail pass, there was no rear plate on the UTV, headlights weren’t on while operating on a road route and the passenger was not wearing his seatbelt. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Amie Egstad, of Bayfield, and Red Cliff tribal warden Zach Peterson were conducting commercial net checks on Lake Superior in September when they observed a 14-foot motorboat with two adult occupants trolling by Basswood Island in 2-foot waves. The wardens checked for life jackets, as well as fishing licenses, and the anglers stated they had two cohos and a lake trout. The wardens found that one of the coho salmon was actually a rainbow trout. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Matt Koshollek, of Drummond, received a call in September about a possible poached deer in the town of Mason. The deer was found in a ditch with its head cut off. Koshollek found the deer; the tenderloins were missing and the head was cut off. Koshollek found that an individual had hit the deer with his vehicle and thought it was OK to leave the carcass after registering the deer. Koshollek asked that the individual remove the carcass and issued a warning for littering.

Warden Dave Sanda, of Gordon, assisted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department with removal of a small marijuana grow on county forest lands in September.

While working the early goose opener, warden Adam Stennett, of Brule, encountered a group of six hunters in a field hunting without all of their licenses and or stamps. Stennett found that all six hunters did not have a federal duck stamp. Stennett warned the group for that violation. Stennett found that two of the hunters did not have small game licenses or state waterfowl stamps, nor were they HIP certified. While explaining the regulations to one of the violators, Stennett found that the other hunter had attempted to buy the licenses on his phone after being contacted. Stennett took enforcement actions.

District 2 — Cumberland area

Warden Peter Carlson, of Frederic, received a complaint in September of an individual trespassing and wearing camouflage. Carlson contacted the individual at his truck and found that the man had been harvesting ginseng on multiple properties without permission and was in possession of immature plants. Enforcement action was taken.

Wardens Carlson and Jesse Ashton, of Luck, were patrolling at McKenzie State Wildlife Area when they came upon individuals suspected of possessing illegal drugs. They referred the information to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. The wardens assisted a Polk County deputy with the investigation, which resulted in one individual arrested for felony possession of methamphetamine and bail jumping. Another individual has pending charges with the county’s district attorney and the third was arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department on a warrant.

Wardens Joshua Loining, of Rice Lake, and Jon Hagen, of Spooner, contacted an archery hunter on Washburn County forest land. It was determined the hunter shot a doe on opening weekend and never registered the deer. Enforcement action was taken.

Wardens Loining and Hagen investigated an early deer bait on Washburn County land and determined an individual placed the bait three weeks before the start of the archery season. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Loining received a call from a DNR employee about an SD card that he located while on vacation in Glacier National Park. The SD card contained a photograph of a boat and registration number. Loining located and contacted the owner of the SD card with the use of the registration number. Loining put the SD card owner in contact with the DNR employee and the SD card was returned to the owner.

Wardens Loining and Hagen assisted the Washburn County Sheriff’s Department with a medical call on Miller Landing Road. The wardens were the first on the scene and performed CPR on a female who was unconscious and not breathing. The wardens continued CPR until first responders arrived.

Warden Hagen followed up on a complaint of a deer that was shot with a firearm during the archery season. The investigation showed the deer was killed with a 9 mm pistol, and in an area of an over-bait violation.

District 4 — Woodruff area

Wardens Timothy Ebert, of Minocqua, Chris Bartelt, of Lake Tomahawk, Jim Jung, of Rhinelander, Stan Lewis, of Three Lakes, and DNR customer service supervisor Chris Thielman initiated their first “Things That Fling” learn-to-hunt deer program. The hunt, based out of the DNR’s Cunard Lake campground, provided students with a four-day deer hunting camp experience. Participants were introduced to traditional archery equipment, compound bows, and crossbows. After two days of instruction, participants were paired with mentors who took them hunting on the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, where one participant shot a deer with a crossbow. The participants then learned to field dress and butcher the deer.

Warden Tim Ebert observed a group a people who appeared to be tracking a wounded deer through the woods at night. While speaking with the group, Ebert found that one of them than been road hunting with a crossbow and shot an antlerless deer, but did not have an antlerless deer license. The hunter called someone who did, and was intending to have them register the deer. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Jim Jung, of Rhinelander, responded to baiting and recreational deer feeding violations in Oneida County in September. Those activities have been illegal since 2016 within Oneida County.

Warden Rich Thole, of Boulder Junction, warned two hunters for unattended decoys and for failing to sign their federal waterfowl stamp. Another hunter was cited for not having any PFDs aboard his duck boat.

District 6 — Eau Claire area

Warden Kevin Christorf, of Cornell, and additional wardens from the Lower Chippewa team, partnered with recreational patrol deputies from the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department. They conducted a focused education and enforcement effort on aquatic invasive species and boating-while-intoxicated issues during the Labor Day weekend on numerous lakes in Chippewa County. Hundreds of contacts were made.

Wardens Jake Bolks, of Eau Claire, Kevin Christorf, Ken Thomson, of Fall Creek, and Lt. Jeremy Peery, of Eau Claire, received numerous calls in September of a bull moose that was causing damage. Several of the calls were about people who were getting too close to the moose in order to photograph it. During these episodes, wardens received calls concerning the safety of people. After the moose injured a horse, DNR wildlife management staffers tranquilized the moose and moved it to the Clark County Forest.

Warden Thomson investigated a report of an illegal crayfish trapper in Clark County. Thomson located the man, who was educated about the regulations on using traps to harvest crayfish.

Warden Thomson, while patrolling the Eau Claire County Forest, found a dog collar along one of the forest roads. Thomson found that it was an expensive GPS tracking collar for a hound. Thomson was able to locate the owner of the collar, who was grateful for having it returned.

District 7 — Wisconsin Rapids area

Warden Josh Litvinoff, of Schofield, gave law enforcement presentations at hunter education classes in Marathon County.

Warden Jon Scharbarth, of Stevens Point, attended a UW-Stevens Point Student Law Enforcement Association meeting and talked about the LTH deer program.

Warden Erika Taylor, of Marshfield, investigated a complaint regarding the failure to register a deer and found that the deer had not been registered, as required. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Taylor gave a presentation to a local club about hunting and wildlife trends.

District 8 — La Crosse area

Wardens Edward McCann, of La Crosse, Jared King and Lt. Tyler Strelow responded to a ginseng trespassing complaint in Vernon County in September and took enforcement action against one person for digging ginseng without permission and possession of methamphetamine, and also took enforcement action on a second ginseng digger.

Wardens McCann and Aaron Koshatka investigated bag limit complaints on Lake Onalaska, and took enforcement action against an individual for keeping 33 bluegills during two trips in one day.

Warden Dale Hochhausen, of Onalaska, witnessed a person using a cast net to collect baitfish at the Onalaska spillway on the backwaters of the Mississippi River. When the individual saw Hochhausen approaching, the person quit using the cast net and walked off the spillway. Upon contact, the individual admitted that he knew what he was doing was illegal. Enforcement action taken.

Warden Hochhausen contacted a person fishing Lake Onalaska several days in a row. Hochhausen’s investigation discovered the person had 205 bluegills in his possession, along with other panfish. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Meghan Jensen, of Trempealeau, and other wardens received multiple reports of a group of hunters who had shot at a flock of mallards in early September (the season was closed) and had hit at least one. The wardens investigated and were able to locate the hunters who had shot at the mallards. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Bob Jumbeck, of Alma, received information from the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department regarding a ginseng trespass / illegal drug case. The investigation found the individual to be in possession of more than a pound of ginseng, had trespassed and dug on two properties without permission. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Jumbeck received a complaint of illegal duck hunting activity on Sept. 9 on the Mississippi River. It was determined a hunter was shooting at teal. It was learned the individual was told by his buddies that the teal season was closed after he shot the first time. The suspect decided to shoot at a flock of teal shortly after. Enforcement action was taken.

Wardens Aaron Koshatka and Cody Adams, of Crawford County, brought their airboat to a flood emergency in Rockbridge, where they evacuated 13 people and three dogs.

Wardens Nate Ackerman, of Pepin County, and Hans Walleser investigated a ginseng case. Two individuals had harvested ginseng without a license and one subject illegally sold ginseng from two other people. Enforcement actions were taken.

Wardens Trevor Tracey, Shawna Stringham, and Jared King, of Vernon County, responded to a hunter who fell out of deer stand and was severely injured during the fall. The wardens assisted medical personnel and the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department with locating the subject and extracting him from the woods. The person was flown to La Crosse.

Wardens Shawna Stringham, of Viroqua, and Jared King investigated a complaint of an individual who had burned a trailer house in order to get rid of it. The individual had stated it was too expensive to dispose of it properly and decided burn it down. Individuals who lived in the area complained of the toxic chemicals and the air becoming impossible to breath. This case was referred to the environmental enforcement staff in the DNR.

Wardens Koshatka and Adams received a call about two people who were digging ginseng without permission on a Soldiers Grover-area property. The wardens contacted the individuals. One was found to be revoked, trespassing, and didn’t have the correct number of stalks for the ginseng roots he had on his person. The other individual was found to be trespassing and had a wild ginseng berry on his person. Enforcement action was taken.

District 10 — Wautoma area

Warden Jonathan Kaiser, of Waupaca, worked with supervisor Ted Dremel, of Wautoma, the United Special Sportsman Alliance (USSA), Empowered Dream Hunts, Niemuth’s Steak & Chop Shop, in cooperation with a generous landowner, organized a deer hunt for a hunter with disabilities who had a safe target shooting time and hunt as well as harvested a deer.

Warden Kaiser worked with city of Waupaca officials and local businesses to follow up on a complaint of unlawfully dumped motor vehicle fluids and unlawful discharge of refrigerants regarding metal scrapping with enforcement action pending.

Warden Kaiser presented at the annual Hartman Creek State Park Conservation Day to multiple groups of Waupaca County fifth graders and instructors, along with multiple other Wisconsin DNR, county and private organization presenters.

Warden Kaitlin Kernosky partnered with “Heroes Hunt for Veterans” and Rudolf Ranch Game Farm for a disabled veteran’s deer hunt. The veteran served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy for 17 years. The hunter harvested his first deer.

Warden Benjamin Mott, of Wautoma, and recruit Kyle Ziembo were asked by the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department in September to assist with the extraction of a male who was injured in a plane crash. The wardens were able to transport rescue personnel into the scene and rescuers and the victim out of the field with their squad truck. The injured person was then transported by helicopter to the hospital.

Wardens Mott and Kyle Ziembo took a complaint of a group of individuals who were shooting at birds other than teal during the early teal season. They contacted three hunters at the landing and found multiple violation: shooting at wood ducks, possession of lead shot, shooting at a protected species, hunting during revocation, and hunting without license or stamps. 

Wardens Mott and Ziembo were called by the Waushara County Sheriff’s Department to assist in locating a boat floating away on the White River Flowage. With the assistance of some locals, the wardens were able to return the boat to shore and secure it until the owners could return and put it on the lift. The boat had drifted off the lift due to the extremely high water following torrential rain.

Wardens Mott and Ziembo assisted in a silver alert search for a missing elderly female in September. The woman had been missing for approximately 20 hours. The wardens were placed in charge of two search teams and were about to deploy when other volunteers located the woman – tired and disoriented, but alive and responsive.

Warden Mark Schraufnagel, of Clintonville, attended the annual J&H Youth and Ladies Day near Navarino. The event was well attended with lots of sporting activities to try.

Wardens Schraufnagel and Clark Delzer, of Shawano, attended a youth conservation day at the Navarino Nature Center.

Wardens John Schreiber, of Green Lake, and Mike Williams, of Reedsburg, contacted a man coming out of the woods who was found to have placed bait for deer well before the season opener in September. Enforcement action was taken.

Wardens Schreiber and Williams contacted four hunters crossbow hunting deer in the White River Marsh. The hunters had all placed bait well before the archery season started and were all hunting over bait piles in excess of 2 gallons. One of the hunters in particular, had placed out 13 bait piles near his ground blind, exceeding 50 gallons in bait. This hunter initially did not admit to the bait but then admitted to placing it. Enforcement action was taken.

District 11 — Peshtigo area

Warden Jacob Cross, of Shawano, investigated a baiting complaint of a large amount of corn and apples being placed in a CWD-affected county. Cross was able to locate a hunter illegally hunting over the bait pile.

Warden Cross worked late night shining enforcement in the Tigerton and Birnamwood areas. Cross made contact with a group of raccoon hunters who were hunting with hounds during the closed season. It was found that the hunters had illegally harvested several raccoons. 

Warden Clark Delzer, of Shawano, investigated a boat incident where a man attempted to launch a 21-foot cabin cruiser boat into White Lake. The boat did not have a plug. It flooded and submerged. The owner abandoned the boat and failed to report his boat accident. 

Warden Delzer contacted three brothers who all placed illegal bait in a CWD-affected county and hunted over it. One brother shot a doe over the bait and failed to register it. All three drove ATVs on roads not open to ATVs and they drove without ATV safety certifications.

Warden Paul Hartrick, of Oconto Falls, investigated an illegal bear-guiding complaint in Oconto County. Hartrick checked a hunter on one of the suspected illegal guiding baits and found another individual out on a guided hunt with an individual who was guiding without a license. Hartrick, warden Timothy Werner, of Crivitz, and recruit Austin Schumacher contacted the original suspect and found him to also be guiding without a license.

Warden Hartrick was on patrol for bear, deer, and waterfowl hunters in September when he heard gun shots at a campsite near the town of Mountain. Hartrick contacted the campers and found one man was shooting his firearm into the lake. The man had consumed alcohol prior to shooting the firearm. Field sobriety tests were performed, which indicated impairment. The man was arrested for possessing a firearm while intoxicated.

Warden Dale Romback, of Wausaukee, assisted the Marinette County Sheriff’s Department with response to a vehicle-versus-motorcycle accident in Pembine. It was found that the vehicle driver fled the scene, Romback assisted with searching the area. Officers were unable to locate the individual after he fled into a nearby swamp. Romback later assisted with a vehicle pursuit involving a stolen vehicle from Niagara. Officers were able to apprehend that driver, who was later found to be the operator from the injury accident in Pembine.

While working ATV enforcement in September, wardens Werner and Schumacher stopped an ATV operator for several road route and registration violations in Athelstane. Enforcement action was taken, and several warnings were issued. The wardens spent extra time explaining registration and road route operation to the driver. Several hours later that same night, the wardens stopped a different ATV for several ATV registration and road route violations. The wardens determined it was the same operator from earlier in the day, just on a different ATV. In addition to the registration and illegal operation, field sobriety tests determined the operator was under the influence. Additional enforcement action was taken, and the operator was arrested for first offense ATV OWI.

District 12 — Green Bay area and Northeast Operations Marine Unit 

Marine Enforcement Unit

Wardens Jeff Lautenslager and Gaven Brault contacted two anglers in possession of salmon in September. Further into the check it was determined that the individual who caught the salmon did not have a salmon stamp and was cited. The other individual had four outstanding DNR warrants and enforcement action was taken for fishing under revocation.

Warden Dave Allen, of Kewaunee, received a complaint about an individual who was running an illegal sport trolling business out of Two Rivers. The illegal sport troller was found to have tax warrants out on him. Allen contacted the Department of Revenue and the agency joined the investigation. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Allen gave a talk to UW-Stevens Point Student Law Enforcement Association (SLEA) on their future work with the DNR’s River Watch Program to help with the illegal activity with the fall salmon run.