CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports the small-game and archery deer season openers saw a fair amount of activity in the Ely area, but both the number of hunters and grouse taken seemed down from previous years. Several hunters reported searching for grouse all day without seeing a bird, while others reported only very few. Violations included hunting without a license in possession, juvenile without a helmet on an ATV, and failure to display ATV registration.

CO Brent Ihnen (Ely #2) focused his time this week checking anglers and watercraft operators. Ihnen also patrolled for bear- and waterfowl-hunting activity. Additional time was spent monitoring AIS compliance near area lakes and public water accesses.

CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked the small-game opening weekend on ATV with area officers. Grouse numbers are low with few birds seen in the bag. Enforcement action was taken for transporting loaded firearms and ATV- and watercraft-related violations

CO Hudson Ledeen (Hovland) reports an abysmal opening weekend to the grouse season. Hunters struggled to find birds and the few birds seen were young of the year. The hunters who were showing a bit of success were walking trails and using dogs. Enforcement action was taken for varying violations.

CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked the small-game opener, with very few people seeing or harvesting grouse. ATV trails and lakes were relatively busy with the warm weather. Enforcement action was taken on hunters transporting loaded shotguns in their vehicles, ATV registration violations, and lack of navigational lights after sunset. Complaints of a wolf attacking a couple different dogs in the Fall and Garden Lake areas were received.

CO Megan Franzen (Silver Bay) spent the week monitoring ATV and hunting activity. The small-game season opened on Saturday, bringing many grouse hunters into the area, with many of them reporting varied success. Enforcement action was taken for recreational vehicle-related violations.

CO Trent Anderson (Tofte) focused on hunting and angling activity for the week. Nuisance-animal and hunting related questions were answered. Many area trails are waterlogged and grouse hunters reported very few birds. Violations encountered for the week included ATV and watercraft registration issues and a multitude of small-game-hunting related offenses.

CO Cassie Block (Two Harbors) spent time this week checking hunters in the area. Block reports some success among grouse hunters. Block focused efforts on ATV activity as well. Time was spent training with K9 partner Jet.