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M-95 motorist learns something new about conservation officers

UP field reports

A sampling of field reports from Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers in the Upper Peninsula:

March 21 to April 3

DISTRICT 1

Conservation Officer Jared Ferguson was travelling south on M-95 when he encountered a motor vehicle traveling 95 mph in a posted 55 mph zone. CO Ferguson was able to stop the vehicle and contact the driver. CO Ferguson asked the driver why he continued at a high rate of speed and didn’t slow down after seeing the patrol vehicle and he stated, “I didn’t think you guys could stop me for speeding, so I didn’t think anything of it.” A citation was issued for speeding.

CO Shannon Kritz responded to a complaint of a grass fire that was spreading toward houses. CO Kritz assisted in evacuating nearby houses until the fire was under control. Once the fire was controlled, CO Kritz returned to the residence where the fire originally started. The investigation revealed that the fire was started when two children, ages 10 and 11 years old, began playing with a couple of lighters they had found. CO Kritz educated the boys on fire safety and educated the family on leaving lighters laying around the house.

CO Shannon Kritz worked in conjunction with the Wisconsin game wardens to patrol an area of the Menominee River where both states were receiving numerous snagging complaints. CO Kritz contacted one angler who was observed keeping a fish after it had been snagged on top of its head. The angler explained to CO Kritz that he thought he could keep fish as long as they were caught in front of the gill plate. CO Kritz informed the angler that fish have to be retained in the mouth to be legally kept. The angler was cited for possessing a fish not retained in the mouth.

CO Jeffrey Dell completed an investigation of license fraud with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Law Enforcement. A subject was found to be purchasing resident Michigan licenses while being a Wisconsin resident. In total, the subject defrauded the state of Michigan approximately $900 in the past five years. Charges are being sought through the local prosecutor.

DISTRICT 2

CO Chris Lynch recently had a deer case adjudicated in court where the subject illegally shot an eight-point buck. The subject was sentenced to five days in jail, fined $450, ordered to pay $6,000 in reimbursement, loss of hunting privileges until 2027, and the crossbow forfeited. The case stemmed from a multi-agency investigation where several subjects were charged with various hunting and fishing violations.

COs Chris Lynch and Steve Butzin responded to five separate grass fires in a two-day period of time. Dry conditions and high winds have made for dangerous fire conditions. Reasons for the fires starting varied from people burning vegetation, dumping ashes from a wood boiler, kids playing with lighters and people having recreational campfires.

COs Chris Lynch and Steve Butzin were on patrol when dispatch put out a call for assistance on a “cardiopulmonary resuscitation in progress.” As the location of the incident was hard to access due to poor road conditions, the COs utilized their mapping programs and coordinated with the Masonville emergency medical services to get on-scene as quickly as possible. The COs assisted with CPR until a pulse was regained and the subject was loaded into an ambulance for transport. During transport, the patient lost their pulse a second time, which necessitated a stop until the pulse could be regained. The ambulance then transported the subject to Marquette General Hospital for further care.

CO Steve Butzin concluded a several month investigation on an individual taking deer without licenses in Delta County. CO Butzin was following up with an individual from another illegal deer case from back in 2018 when he discovered information that another individual possibly had taken a deer without a license. After further investigation it was discovered that an individual had been taking deer without licenses since at least 1995. The suspect bragged about shooting hundreds of deer in his life. A search warrant was executed on the residence of the suspect, which uncovered approximately 50 sets of deer antler skull caps. Many of these deer were large, mature bucks. Along with the antlers, other evidence was collected at the scene to corroborate the suspect’s claims to have shot many deer without licenses.

Several interviews and genetic testing of evidence collected all point towards the fact this individual has taken many deer both in season and out of season without licenses. CO Butzin was assisted in this investigation by COs Chris Lynch, Sgt. Jerry Fitzgibbon, Mike Hammill, Andrea Dani and Rob Freeborn, as well as the Delta County Sheriff’s Department and MSP. A report has been submitted to the 94th District Court of Delta County requesting the charge of taking the following deer without licenses: two eight-points in 2020, one six-point in 2019, and one eight-point in 2018. If convicted, this individual could face reimbursement to the state for $20,000, along with fines and costs of prosecution as well as loss of hunting privileges.

CO Steve Butzin served an arrest warrant on an individual from an incident that occurred in Delta County. This warrant was for taking a six-point buck without a license in 2020. The suspect is pending arraignment.

CO Mike Olesen responded to a grass fire that got out of control and burned approximately 15 acres, including an old fallen-down barn on the neighbor’s property, before being put out. Warrants are being sought for the person responsible.

Conservation officers are fully licensed peace officers who enforce laws related to fish and wildlife, state parks, trails and forests, and outdoor recreation activities such as off-road vehicle use, snowmobiling and boating. They also are first responders to a variety of natural disasters and emergencies.

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