WEST-CENTRAL REGION Lower St. Croix Team /August Warden Kyle Kosin, of Pierce County, responded to multiple reports of car-killed bald eagles on Pierce County roadways. Bald eagles commonly scavenge on vehicle-killed animals, putting them at risk of being struck by passing vehicles. Warden J.J. Redemann, of Dunn County, and the Dunn County recreation deputy were on boat patrol on the…
NORTHERN REGION Park Falls Team/July Warden Aaron Koshatka, of Hayward, responded to a two-boat crash on Lac Courte Oreilles Lake. Koshatka learned that the operator of the ski boat was watching the skier in the rear view mirror while making a wide turn. The ski boat had a total of six passengers on board. During the turn the ski boat…
WEST-CENTRAL REGION Lower St. Croix Team/July Wardens Kyle Kosin, of Pierce County, Jamie McDermid, of Dunn County, and Chad Ziegler interviewed a person currently revoked of all DNR privileges after receiving complaints the person was baiting bears illegally. The person admitted to placing and maintaining multiple bear baits. The wardens issued a warning and educated the person, explaining the revocation…
NORTHERN REGION Spooner Team / July Wardens Pete Carlson, of Frederic, and Jesse Ashton, of Luck, along with Polk County recreation deputy Smith, saw two individuals closely operating their personal watercraft above no-wake in circles around two people floating in the water on a Polk County lake. Both personal watercraft operators were also operating very close to each other. Enforcement…
NORTHEAST REGION Green Bay Team/July While patrolling by boat on the Fox River in July, wardens Amanda Kretschmer and Gaven Brault, both of Green Bay, contacted a female who was hand-fishing from the shorelines along the Fox River State Trail. The female was fishing with four hooks and baits. In Wisconsin, it is illegal to fish with more than three…
NORTHERN REGION Ashland Team/June Warden Matt Koshollek, of Drummond, assisted the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Department with a rash of thefts from cabins, businesses and boats in the Lake Namekagon area near Cable. There were reports of stolen fishing rods, gas, boat motors and fish finders. Bayfield County deputies arrested two men responsible for the thefts and recovered all stolen items….
NORTHEAST REGION Wautoma Team/May While patrolling for sturgeon spawning activity, warden Jonathan Kaiser, of Waupaca, contacted a group of individuals who were found to be on probation while fishing without licenses. After working with the Waupaca Police Department, Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, and Wisconsin Department of Probation and Parole, enforcement action was taken. Wardens Joshua Wiedenhoeft and Jonathan Kaiser worked…
NORTHERN REGION Woodruff Team/May Warden Timothy Ebert, of Minocqua, responded to a complaint concerning anglers illegally snagging fish on the Minocqua Chain of Lakes. Ebert observed an angler snag and release a muskie. After the fish was released, the angler continued to attempt to snag fish. As a result of the joint investigation with the Great Lakes Indian, Fish, and…
WEST-CENTRAL REGION Lower Chippewa Team/April Wardens Charles Ackerman, of Clark County, and Ken Thomson investigated a complaint concerning an individual who was baiting turkeys. They found the individual had placed corn in front of a ground blind and allowed a juvenile hunter to shoot a turkey at the illegal bait site. Wardens Kevin Christorf and Bob Kneeland investigated an illegal…
NORTHERN REGION Park Falls Team/April Warden Tom Heisler, Jr., of Winter, received multiple calls regarding two dead tundra swans, just feet apart, near the bridge on Moose Lake. Callers were not sure what caused their death. After viewing the area, Heisler was able to determine the pair flew into the power lines while crossing the river. This was apparent by…
SOUTHEAST REGION Racine/Kenosha/Walworth counties March team report Warden Brandon Smith, of Twin Lake, in cooperation with Illinois DNR, finished an investigation involving a person found to have been hunting along the Wisconsin-Illinois state line in violation of multiple hunting and baiting laws in both states. Enforcement action was taken for placing and hunting over illegal bait, hunting during closed season,…
NORTHERN REGION Ashland Team / March Wardens Phil Brown, of Iron River, Matt Koshollek, of Drummond, and Adam Stennett, of Brule, patrolled the Cable area in March for a large snowmobile race. The wardens made stops for registration, trail pass and modified exhaust violations. Warden Stennett issued a citation to a steelhead fisherman for fishing on the Brule River and…
NORTHERN REGION Ashland Team/February Wardens from several northern counties assisted local law enforcement at the annual American Birkebeiner ski race from Cable to Hayward. Wardens assisted in downtown and trail security patrol and conducted the trail sweeps for the Birkebeiner race to ensure safety of participants. After receiving complaints of illegal deer feeding on railroad property, warden John Krull, of…
SOUTHEAST REGION Waukesha/Milwaukee Team/December Wardens who serve Walworth County hosted the annual “Hunt off Hunger” Battle of the Schools food drive and documented the amount of perishable goods donated by Delavan-Darien, Elkhorn, and Badger High Schools. Delavan-Darien High School was awarded the traveling trophy for donating more than 1,500 pounds of perishable items. In total all three high schools donated…
NORTHERN REGION Park Falls Team / January Wardens Aaron Koshatka, of Hayward, and Steve Pyfferoen, of Ladysmith, contacted two fishermen on Big Sissabagama Lake in Sawyer County. One didn’t have a fishing license. He did have 11 crappies and was continuing to fish to help the other individual catch his limit. Warden Aaron Koshatka was working snowmobile enforcement with R.J….
NORTHERN REGION Spooner Team / December Wardens Pete Wetzel, of Amery, Pete Carlson, of Frederic, and Nick Engelhardt investigated a group of hunters who were reported to have shot deer from vehicles, failed to register deer, and trespassed. The investigation found the suspects had shot deer from their vehicles while on the road, failed to register six deer, littered and…
NORTHEAST REGION Green Bay Team/January Warden Chris Kratcha, of Sturgeon Bay, led a National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) “train the trainers” course for area school teachers and conservation wardens at Southern Door School. Wardens Alyssa Neff-Miller, of Manitowoc, and James Moore, of Kewaunee, contacted an individual who was jigging for panfish on a local lake in Manitowoc County….
WEST-CENTRAL REGION Lower Chippewa Team/December Wardens Charles Ackerman, of Clark County, and Jake Holsclaw, of Eau Claire, investigated a report of a house being hit by a bullet. It was found that an individual shot at a deer, the bullet traveled across Hwy. 73 in Clark County and struck a house. No one in the house was injured and a…
NORTHEAST REGION Green Bay Team/December Warden Chris Kratcha, of Sturgeon Bay, assisted with a December investigation of a Door County resident suspected to have illegally harvested and fed deer in a non-baiting and feeding county. Enforcement action was taken. Warden supervisor George Protogere, of Green Bay, received a complaint in Brown County of a gun-deer hunter during the muzzleloader season…
WEST-CENTRAL REGION/NOVEMBER Lower Chippewa Team Web Report Wardens Kevin Christorf, of Cornell, Lt. Jeremy Peery, Ken Thomson, of Fall Creek, and Jake Bolks, of Eau Claire, followed up on an illegal deer investigation in November. They found three individuals had shined and shot two large bucks from a vehicle with a rifle during the archery season. The bucks had been…
NORTHERN REGION Spooner Team / November Warden Jesse Ashton, of Polk County, stopped a vehicle operator on the McKenzie Creek Wildlife Area and found the two occupants were road-hunting with a cocked, loaded crossbow. When Ashton approached the vehicle the passenger had the cocked crossbow loaded with the bolt, and the driver was smoking marijuana. Warden Ashton was responding to…
NORTHEAST REGION Green Bay/Marine Enforcement Unit Warden Mike Neal, of Sister Bay, was asked by the Door County Sheriff’s Department in September to assist with a possible rescue near Sister Bay. The individual was located after it was first thought that the person had fallen off a bluff. Warden Neal was called by the Door County Sheriff’s Department regarding an…
NORTHERN REGION Spooner Team Wardens Chris Spaight and Dustin Gabrielson, both of Burnett County, investigated a report of an illegally harvested turkey in October. They determined the suspect bought his license after he harvested the turkey. The hunter had also not registered the turkey, as required, and then did so after he was contacted by the wardens. Wardens Spaight and…
WEST-CENTRAL REGION Mississippi River Team Warden Cody Adams assisted the Crawford County Sherriff’s Department in September with numerous flood related calls assisting stranded drivers and checking on residences as the county received 7 inches of rain in less than two hours. Wardens Edward McCann, of La Crosse, and Mike Burns were on patrol when they observed an individual operating an…
NORTHERN REGION Ashland Team Warden Amie Egstad, of Bayfield, and Red Cliff Tribal Warden Zach Peterson were out checking commercial nets in September near Port Wing when they contacted two walleye fishermen in a 14-foot boat off the mouth of the Iron River on Lake Superior. The fishermen did not have any wearable PFDs on board. Enforcement action was taken,…
NORTHEAST REGION Green Bay Team Wardens Chris Kratcha, of Sturgeon Bay, and Alyssa Neff-Miller, of Manitowoc, investigated a suspicious 2018 gun deer season registration in September which resulted in the issuance of citations to two hunters and the seizure of antlers. Warden James Moore, of Kewaunee, responded to a call in September on the Ahnapee State Trail regarding a live…
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