- 2 days ago
Wardens of the North S05E09 (2025)
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00:00Conservation officers in District 1 investigate a case where they suspect a
00:13logger who won a bid to cut trees on state land harvested more timber than he should have.
00:18Look at a warden's videographer participating in a unique weekend
00:28that focuses on giving women more skills and confidence to enjoy the outdoors.
00:33And conservation officers in Michigan's District 9 check on deer hunters during the state's hectic firearm deer season.
00:40That turned a little too far.
00:41A little too far?
00:42Yeah.
00:43200 acres too far.
00:45You got your licenses on you or no?
00:46No, it's in the truck.
00:47It's over here.
00:48You got your hunt licenses on you, you know that?
00:51Wild animals and wild places, they're more than a picture.
00:57They're inspiration, excitement, and adventure.
01:01Patrolling and protecting these natural resources is a first-class band of peace officers.
01:07These are the wardens, dedicated to the preservation of our great outdoors.
01:13Michigan Conservation Officers protect the resources of the state.
01:14In that role, they are frequently seen monitoring hunters and anglers who are targeting a wide
01:18assortment of game and species of fish.
01:32Michigan Conservation Officers protect the resources of the state.
01:38In that role, they are frequently seen monitoring hunters and anglers who are targeting a wide
01:43assortment of game and species of fish.
01:46The overwhelming majority of their interactions with the public do not result in citations being
01:51issued.
01:52However, animals are not the full extent of everything that they're authorized to protect.
01:57In the state's District 1, Officer Brett DeLong is one of a large team of officers who are gathered
02:05to begin a day that many of them have been anticipating for quite some time.
02:08Our hopes are today to go there, search the residence, and then search the logging site
02:13to attempt to find any of the paint that he has that have marked the trees after the fact.
02:19They intend to execute search warrants in a case where they suspect a logger has cut trees
02:23on state land illegally.
02:25CEO DeLong has been working this case for more than a year.
02:28We've been on this for a year and a half, I mean, for quite some time.
02:33Special thanks to the Special Investigations Unit and the Forrester because they've all put
02:36a lot of time and effort into it.
02:38But essentially what we have is the Forest Division had some suspicions on over-harvesting off their
02:46contracts, and we got together to go out and identify trees that were of high value in
02:53a cut that were supposed to be left.
02:55About six to seven years ago, the same contractor had a different timber sale with this department,
03:02and inspecting that at different times, I noticed different paint color, well it was orange paint
03:07but different shade of orange, and it was different markings on the stump than I put on there.
03:13And with marking that sale myself, I know how I marked it, and it ended up different.
03:19And then after they cut it, it was much more open than what my residual basal area was destined
03:25to be when I originally marked it.
03:28What we did, went out there, we threw in screws, and we did different documentations
03:34of the trees.
03:35And overall, we documented a little over 60, 63-ish trees out there that were of high value.
03:42After the foresters did their marking out there, we went, did a site visit, and noticed that
03:48more trees were marked, and then on top of that, several of our trees that we had identified
03:52that were supposed to be left were marked after the fact.
03:55In our hardwood stands, we slowly, every 15 to 20 years, we go in and mark some.
04:01We mark the mature trees, we mark the poor quality, low vigor, and the trees that we don't determine
04:06will make it another 10 to 15 years until our next entry into the stand.
04:11So we're always trying to improve the quality, and at the same time, open up some areas to
04:16allow new regeneration to occur in the stand.
04:19So you perpetually have a stand with young trees and then mature trees all at the same
04:23time.
04:24So it provides many values to wildlife and also the timber industry.
04:28If you guys don't know, this is next to a carnifent natural area, so it's a buffer zone.
04:33This is meant to be a buffer zone here, so it's a higher state or higher regulations on
04:40the particular cut.
04:41So it's just supposed to be a thinning.
04:42As you see when you get out there, it's more or less of a clear cut, just about.
04:46Once you get our attention on a topic, especially when it's something to this effect that affects
04:51both our natural resources here, and as well as people's livelihood and other logging companies,
04:58it is not going to go away, and we will do what it takes to get the right people and as
05:01many people as we need to make that come together and bring it to court and get those people charged
05:07appropriately.
05:08Hopefully we'll find some good evidence today and be able to take this to court.
05:13Thank you all for being here and doing this.
05:16We're looking at hopefully finding the paint that he's been marking the trees that we have
05:24paint samples that hopefully we can get that paint to match it and also get a hold of the
05:30receipts for his logs that he's brought to different mills.
05:35When the state of Michigan awards bids to logging companies to cut trees that are property of
05:39the state on state land, they mark the trees with paint or some other distinct marking.
05:45The officers believe that this suspect has gotten his own spray can and marked additional
05:49trees.
05:50After he made contract or won the contract with the state, our foresters went in, marked
05:55the trees that were supposed to be cut during the sale, and then that's it.
06:01He, after he secured that contract, went back in, marked more trees so that he could get
06:08his money back because he overbid by roughly $40,000 than what the next competitor was.
06:15For the average person taking a hike through the woods, they may not be able to tell the
06:18difference of how trees are marked, but for those who work in this industry and are experts
06:23in forestry, it's sometimes obvious when something questionable is occurring.
06:28Shortly after the contractor got it, we went out there and started our efforts to track
06:32and document trees that weren't marked.
06:36And through that, our first timber sale inspection, when the contractor got started on the sale,
06:42I noticed right away that there was more paint out there than I did.
06:45It was different directions, different style of marking.
06:49I could tell within the first 50 feet of walking in the stand that it wasn't what I'd left it
06:54as.
06:55With his primary suspect not at the job site, CO DeLong heads to the suspect's residence,
07:00which is also his place of business.
07:02Officers stay at the job site to investigate the scene.
07:05There's a loaded handgun in there, inside of his lunchbox.
07:10Well, he says it's loaded.
07:12We haven't checked the chamber yet, but we want to photograph it before we remove it.
07:16COs find a handgun and cans of spray paint in one of the construction vehicles.
07:21In addition to cutting more trees than the contract stipulated, the type of extra trees
07:31that have been cut are not ones that forestry experts would have chosen, even if they wanted
07:35more of them cut.
07:36It may have a permanent impact.
07:39I mean, not only did he take out the high-value trees, the ones that we left to put on some
07:44more growth to become better value, and he left us all the crappy trees that have no monetary
07:51value.
07:52They're just not good quality timber value in them.
07:56They offer other benefits, maybe some benefits to wildlife, but no timber value left in the
08:03crap trees that he left us.
08:06Because of the extensive damage done to this forest, it will likely take much longer than
08:10it should for the area to recover.
08:12That was marked 20 years ago, and it filled in to get back to what it looks like behind
08:19you.
08:20So, you know, that was cut under our normal practices.
08:23This will probably take, I want, decades to recover, and maybe never recover from, we might
08:30end up with a lot of poor quality, branched out hardwood trees as a result of this, because
08:35there's too much sunlight in there.
08:46Fort Wilkins' historic park in the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula strives
08:51to take visitors back in time to a different era in the history of the United States.
08:55The park features interpreters who role-play assorted characters that are based on real-life
09:00people.
09:01It basically serves as a stage for our interpretive staff to do the social history of the fort.
09:06So, we interpret the lower class through our laundress and our private, middle class through
09:13our quartermaster-sergeant role, and the upper class through an officer's wife or our lieutenant.
09:18Each of the costumed role-players strive to use the language of the period and convey
09:22the job, life, and experience of the characters they are portraying.
09:25Up here, you're just so far out of it, you know, there's nothing to be guarding up here.
09:30You barely feel like a soldier most of the time.
09:32I mean, I end up with a broom more than I do with a rifle.
09:36So, it can take some of the glory out of it, and you end up just sitting around getting
09:40bored.
09:41There's plenty of drinking and gambling here, it's not permitted, mind you, but it doesn't
09:47mean it don't happen.
09:48You know, you have a bunch of men sitting around during the winter, and you lose track of things
09:53to do.
09:55Hello, I'm Kate Holmes.
09:59It's nice to meet you.
10:00I work as one of the post-laundresses, and then I'm married to Private Holmes of Company
10:04K.
10:05I'm just doing some of the washing today, you know, I've got my scrub bucket, so I've got
10:10soap in here, and I've got my washboard, you know, for doing the scrubbing on, and then
10:16I've got a rinse bucket.
10:18I am also responsible for special drilling of the troops, that would be, sometimes the
10:24enlisted men find themselves falling behind in their drill.
10:28And when that happens, I step in and I take them aside for an hour or two of special instruction
10:35when their regular duties permit, so that they do not hold up the company when we do a full
10:41company drill on the parade ground.
10:43Fort Wilkins was built in response to the Copper Rush, built in 1844, basically as a
10:50police action to keep an eye on the miners and to make sure that there was no conflict
10:54between the local Ojibwe tribe and the miners and explorers that were coming up here.
10:59The actors at Fort Wilkins come from various backgrounds and have different reasons for
11:03being passionate about educating the public through role playing.
11:05The sort of change over time is what really interests me about history.
11:10What has changed, what hasn't.
11:12So, being able to talk to people about that sort of thing, like, this is how we do it.
11:18And then, of course, I can't say, this is very different from how we do it now,
11:22but it's implied in that sort of exchange.
11:26I've always been interested in history.
11:27I used to go to Civil War reenactments and take part in that.
11:31And what I like about working as an interpreter is you get to include people in something you're
11:38passionate about because they begin to feel like they're a part of the story or feel like they're
11:44a part of the site.
11:46You know, they walk in and I've had people be like, oh, we're walking back in time.
11:51You know, it's always interesting because some people tell me, oh, you've been sent forward in time,
11:55yet you're walking around all the period buildings.
11:58I would argue that it's the other way around.
12:01A lot of, like, just learning how to engage with people and, like, different kinds of people have
12:06different expectations coming into the fort and, like, I guess what my purpose is.
12:13You know, some people are more interested in watching me do the laundry or asking questions
12:17or just tell me your life story.
12:20I recently graduated from Albion College.
12:23I am an education major.
12:24I go to Northern Michigan University over in Marquette.
12:26There's a program called the Future Historians that does a similar first-person reenacting
12:33here at the fort.
12:33So I was a part of that group for, I think, nine years.
12:37It's, you know, you do every month, there's a local history meeting.
12:40And then in the summer, there's several different three-day workshops,
12:45which is up here, you know, in costume.
12:47So I did that for, I'd say, nine years.
12:50And so the whole time I was doing that, I was like, I want to be one of the adult role players.
12:54I want to be one of the adult role players.
12:56And well, here I am.
12:57The effort to create a living history is a passion for everyone involved at Fort Wilkins
13:02Historic State Park and is generally well received by the approximately 150,000 visitors that the park has
13:09each year.
13:10The best groups I have come in are parents and their children.
13:13The parents prompt them to ask questions.
13:15And then the kids almost think that it's absolutely real and they approach it as such.
13:22I think that that's definitely a special experience that interpretation allows you to have with people.
13:27Michigan Conservation Officer Brett DeLong is one of several officers investigating a suspect who they
13:41believe is cutting more trees than he is allowed after winning a bid to harvest timber on state land.
13:47The officers in the DNR's Law Division, as well as state experts from the Forest Resources Division,
13:53were leery of this lumber contract from the get-go because the bid was significantly higher than other
13:58bids for this job.
14:00CO DeLong began his work on this day by going to the job site where he guessed the primary suspect would be.
14:05After not finding him there, he went to the suspect's home.
14:09He didn't find the suspect there either, but did find an acquaintance of the primary suspect.
14:14He also found some evidence for which he was looking.
14:16We're actually leaving the suspect's residence to go to the job site.
14:21Just found out he's going to be made contact with them. He's going to be there shortly.
14:25A quick look at the residence and one of the vehicles there actually identified a few items that we're
14:34looking for that he used to do the marking on the timber marking. And as in the picture here,
14:41I can identify that the board and a backpack and gloves with the orange paint on them were
14:47looked like it appeared to be in the vehicle back there. We haven't had to open it up to search it
14:51yet, but a quick view shows that it's there. When he arrives back at the job site,
14:57Officer DeLong finds Sergeant Ryan Aho and other members of the DNR's Law Enforcement Division
15:02talking to the primary suspect. Once we figure this out and the foresters do their job,
15:09they figure out what's going on, then it's going to be, you know, people way above my pay grade that
15:15are going to make a decision as to how to handle it. So, but at this point, you're prohibited from
15:21hearing or cutting out this job.
15:32Sergeant Ryan Aho and Officer Brett DeLong, Mark Liebman, as well as many other members of both
15:37the DNR's Law Enforcement Division and Forestry Resources Division are working a case where they
15:42suspect a logger has over-cut a forest of state land for which he won a bid to cut trees.
15:48While searching for evidence at both the job site and the place of business,
15:52the team of investigators has found some evidence for which they were looking. Eventually,
15:56they also find the lead suspect. Some members of the team talk with him about what they're doing
16:01on this particular day and give him the paperwork involved with the case.
16:05Things on my end are felt for granted. I got a back situation going on right now. I got implants in my
16:13back. Things that are things are not . Yeah, well, no, I can sympathize with that.
16:19And that's, you know, like I said, that's warrant on marking too many trees in the night.
16:25Yeah, you know, like I said, it's not, you know, I mean, it doesn't warrant anything,
16:29but I'll, you know, put the loads in here better than better than what they usually could be.
16:36Absolutely. Absolutely. No, like I said, it's not like, you know, not to say that,
16:40you know, if I did take some other, some trees or whatever that it warrants that, but,
16:44you know, I'll try to make up for it to make sure the quality of, you know, the road system
16:51that they put in a lot better outfit. Okay. Yeah. Well, like I said, I appreciate it.
16:57This part of the year, I got about five grand stuck in this part of it. Oh, really? Yeah.
17:01The logger shares with the officers that he has been dealing with an injury
17:05and that he feels that he has helped to improve the condition of the roads that he and his
17:08logging crew have been utilizing on the job site. Like I say, it just comes down to,
17:13it comes down to economics, you know, and everybody's gotta, you know, you gotta put food
17:17on your table, pay your guys in the rig, so. Well, very good, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
17:24Upon concluding the searches of the job site and place of business on this day,
17:28the investigating team returns to a local DNR office. Excellent work by everybody. It was,
17:34kind of went like clockwork right up until we were ready to make contact and found out he wasn't
17:39where we thought he was going to be, but we made the best of it and it all worked out in the long run.
17:44So, uh, nice work by everybody from, from our side of things. Uh, Mark did a great job being methodical,
17:53going through everything. I think, uh, everything is documented very well, looking at what, uh,
17:59Shannon has there. I'm glad that we were able to see all the, all the pieces of the puzzle finally
18:07come together after a long wait. Um, as it's a relief, uh, things went much smoother than I kind
18:12of anticipated, uh, going into this whole, uh, situation today, I kind of expected more, um,
18:18kickback or more, um, kind of, just a kickback from, from our suspect and, and everybody involved in
18:25that. But other than that, it almost went too good to be true. But, uh, no, I'm glad we finally got
18:29it wrapped up. I know our, our forest, uh, resource division are, are very pleased and happy with what
18:34we've done and helped them out. I want to thank everybody for helping with this effort that for
18:39the last six, seven years, this contractor has had a number of sales where I've assumed or assumed and
18:45I thought that extra trees were being harvested that were not part of the original timber sale.
18:51And with the culmination of today that there is proof that I, that I knew what I was talking about
18:56and that, that it was actually occurring with this contractor. So it is nice to finally put a,
19:01put an end to it. The result of this day is the culmination of a huge team effort by many
19:06employees of Michigan's DNR. It's a fine example of different divisions working together for the
19:11betterment of the state's residents, visitors and resources. Some had been suspicious for a long time
19:17of what was happening to the state's natural resources. It was a good team effort.
19:21Uh, for everybody to be, it seemed like it was almost overkill. Some people may look at it that
19:26way, but as we discussed in our debriefing, it really wasn't. To be able to have that many people
19:32at each location was, was key. And today, because we showed up, our suspect wasn't there. We were able
19:38to touch base with each other and, um, be on scene when he arrived and kind of let, not even allow him to
19:46make contact with any other suspects or anybody else to maybe get rid of the evidence.
19:50What I was seeing and over the course of those years was, I actually was seeing that and, you know,
19:55that it was nice to actually get proof now, you know, and it was with the help of the LED conservation
20:00officers that we could put something together to actually, actually verify that it was occurring.
20:06In this case, for illegally cutting and removing timber from state land, this man was court ordered to pay
20:12the state of Michigan $119,529.40 in restitution. He also received three years of probation and a
20:22suspended jail sentence of six months. Furthermore, he is barred from bidding on any future DNR logging
20:29contracts. A lot of people do have the thought that if we just don't tell a conservation officer
20:35something, they kind of go away. That's not the case. A little word to those out there that think
20:41that we don't give up. Things don't go away. It may seem like that they do go away, but it's probably
20:48just, we're looking at gathering more evidence and we're probably watching you and you just don't know
20:53it. It's just a matter of getting as much evidence as we can to finally put the final nail in the coffin.
21:00Michigan's firearm deer season is usually the time period that brings the most hunters into the woods.
21:07The state's conservation officers look forward to this flurry of activity and strive to do their
21:12duty to protect the natural resources of the Great Lakes state. In Michigan's District 9,
21:20Conservation Officer Jo Deppin has encountered a hunter with her dad who says she just shot a deer.
21:26I lost sight of him. Okay. So I, um, I, he was like 50, 60 yards and he ran out of the neighbor's property
21:37and he laid down and he was sideways and just picking his head up, blood coming out of himself,
21:42like dropping, picking it up, dropping, and then he stood up and got two feet and didn't think
21:47as I can see. Okay. So I feel really confident, but he's so big. I feel like we need to give him some time.
21:54Okay. Okay. Perfect. All right. Yeah. You can put those with you. So when we go over there and
21:59find him and do your tag. When we find him, I like your attitude. That's right.
22:06Good. Thank you.
22:09I got a call this morning from a family that I know who hunts up in Lennox Township.
22:13They said they had shot a deer this morning, a pretty nice deer, but they think it may have gone
22:17onto the neighbor's property. So they did the right thing. They went over and they talked to the neighbor,
22:21got permission to go track the deer onto the adjacent piece. We met them out there. We ended
22:26up following them out there to track the deer to the adjacent property. And the family, Alyssa and her
22:31dad ended up finding a really nice 12 point deer. Couldn't have asked for a better morning hunting
22:36with my dad. This is the first piece of property that I've ever owned. And as soon as I saw it,
22:44I knew it had potential for a big deer. We were getting small, young bucks on camera.
22:48Up until about three weeks ago and this bruiser showed up and I about fell out of my chair when
22:54it showed up on my phone on the cell cam app. And I was like, dad, you and I are going to be fighting
23:00for this deer. It was a great moment for her and her family. They've been working on food plots for
23:06quite a long time out in that piece. And it was a great deer to watch them take. Neighbor was kind
23:11enough to let us retrieve him on his property. I couldn't be more grateful. This is by far the
23:17biggest deer I've ever had my hands on. It really makes me really emotional. So I wish it was with
23:26the boat. We'll follow you guys out here and let you guys get your quad and congrats once again.
23:32Later in his shift, Officer Deppin returns to his truck to respond to a call he just received.
23:38Possibly five hunters trespassing on a piece of somebody else's property and hunting. So we're
23:42going to meet Officer Keel and Officer Solori over there in a few minutes. Officer Deppin meets with
23:48CEO Chris Keel to talk to the landowners who have observed people trespassing on their property.
23:54We'll go over there and talk to him and kind of take from there. We'll let you guys know. Now do you know,
23:59did you post it right behind their property? We didn't post it. If they walk onto the property,
24:07they take them down. But they would have had to walk past the sign. Absolutely. They shoot them.
24:11All right. So make sure next time you put the signs up, you bring out a ladder or a four-wheeler or
24:16something so you can stand up on top of it. Put them way up high and then they can't walk by them. No, last year we were walking the property and found all those ground lines. Multiple of them were right under trees with the sign right here. Upon arriving at the
24:29property in question, officers Deppin and Keel begin to walk the land in search of hunters who
24:34aren't authorized to be there. They check some empty blinds and consult maps on their phones before contacting a hunter.
24:40I came up with the bathroom, but I didn't. But you got your gun here too. I got this right here.
24:54You got to be orange. Is that orange? Oh, I didn't know. I've been wearing. How many years you been hunting?
24:59You got loaded fire on a four-wheeler? Uncased. How many years you been hunting? 32. And you didn't know you
25:07needed orange. Well, I know I needed orange. I didn't know everybody wears this stuff. No?
25:13Which piece of property do you think you're on right now? Mine? Mine's not an answer. What property?
25:18What's the property name? Okay, who else is that? Uh, uh, wife, son. And you let them go on somebody
25:27else's property? Well, we were hunting up close in a deer. So, yes. See? Yeah, I guess so because they're right
25:36there. I didn't know that it ain't posted. Nobody's ever bothered me for 30 years. Okay. Well,
25:42it was posted and you guys keep ripping the signs down is what I've been told. Okay. And you've had
25:46conversations with the landowner before, right? About years and years ago. Okay. Did he ever give you
25:52permission to go out there or give other people, give you permission to give other people to go on
25:56this property? No. No. But we've been, it's a landlocked hunk of land. Do you, so you just go
26:02wherever? Do you have any other firearms on you? Well, it's been, I've been here and it's, I've been here so
26:06long. Hey, stop. All the neighbors. Stop. Do you have any other firearms on you? Do you have any
26:10other firearms on you? No, no, little ones. Do you have little ones? No, I said no little ones. All right. I got my gun laying around here someplace.
26:18I've got your gun.
26:28Michigan conservation officers, Joe Deppin, Chris Keel, and Brad Solori are working on the opening
26:34day of Michigan's firearm deer season. C.O. Deppin started his day by helping a successful hunter
26:40drag her buck out of the woods. Now, the three officers who are all assigned to the southeast
26:45corner of the state are working a case where they've encountered one hunter on land where he
26:50doesn't have permission to be. He's told the officers that there are more hunters on this piece of land.
26:55The officers believe that they are all trespassing. Is it possible that anyone is tracking a deer back
27:00there at all? Not even a possibility? I haven't. I've heard shots since I've been up here, but I don't
27:05know. I've heard them coming from all up here. Come on, people or deer? Shooting. I don't know if anybody's
27:12out. I heard shooting. I don't know if anybody got anything. I've been trying to call, but there ain't
27:16no good reception out here. All right. Well, we don't need to call anymore. We're going to go
27:20figure out what they're doing back there. I see a quad, and I see a rope. I mean, that gives a lot of
27:24indications. Well, I brought that out in the this morning. I dropped it there just in case. Generally,
27:28when people take out a quad and a rope, there's a deer down somewhere. Well, I just went up and got it,
27:31went to the bathroom and got on the quad to ride back. Okay. And I've been standing here to give somebody a
27:35ride or whatever. I'm just sitting here waiting. Sitting here waiting. The original reason we're here is for
27:40trespassing onto this back piece, okay? And you obviously know your property lines, because when
27:44I walked up to you, you said, hey, I'm on my property right here. So I know you know the property
27:47lines, whether those signs that were here earlier were taken down or not. You know where your property
27:51line's at, and you're allowing your friends to go onto that piece of property that's not yours.
27:56It's been going on for 30 years. Doesn't make it right. Everybody's been coming out here. I know. I know.
28:02I'm sorry. It's just been common practice for 30 years. Nobody's ever said a word. Okay. Well,
28:10they're saying words now. CO Deppin stays with the first hunter they contacted,
28:15while officers Kiel and Solori walk the property and look for the other hunters. Clear on that.
28:20We'll stand by. My partner's found one of the guys back there. They're going to speak with the other
28:25people in the other blinds real quick. All right. He's bringing up this four-wheeler quad and rope,
28:28and he's saying he doesn't know if there's a deer down. So he definitely shot one, but he can find
28:32him. I don't know where they hunt in the back, but I know my dad, him, and my brother-in-law were
28:40hunting in the back this morning. Where's the back? What are you talking about?
28:43Further in the back. Show us where that's at. It's down by the gas line. I don't know how to get back
28:51there personally because I never. Did they walk from right here? Yeah. Did they walk from down the road?
28:56No, we walked from his house. You walked all in here. Yeah. And then you guys split up.
29:00Yeah. Okay, let's just go that way. Yeah. Blood.
29:07Blood there. I think just... Okay. That's the way they track. He said,
29:11I found this doe. I need help. So I'm thinking they're a little bit west of you and north of me.
29:21All right, bear up. I see him. I got to send it to you.
29:23Yeah. No, keep him there. Okay.
29:28You want to stay put here? We'll come with you.
29:33Oh, come on in.
29:33Oh. This is the first time ever.
29:36What? First time one?
29:38I understand that, but there's no reason to lie.
29:40I was standing right next to him when he was telling him on the phone.
29:42That's great. Shouldn't have brought him out here on somebody else's property though.
29:45That's the problem. You guys all got permission to be out here?
29:47Yeah. Like I said, I've been hunting with... My uncle lives right on 26.
29:51Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, where did you get the... Where'd you get the permission from?
29:57Like I said, my uncle lived right on 26 mile. I just walked out the back of his...
30:00230, 230.
30:01Okay, but I entered a little too far.
30:03A little too far.
30:04Good.
30:04Yeah.
30:05200 acres too far.
30:06Yeah, was that...
30:08Yeah, was that old for you?
30:08I just said, I've been under for years. It was never posted.
30:11That was property west.
30:12Well, it was posted many, many times. It's just somebody from the house rips him down every time.
30:21And he knows better, so he should have been nice and told you not to go back there.
30:27You seem like a really nice guy.
30:30Am?
30:30You.
30:31You rips at me?
30:32Yeah.
30:33What are you doing out here on other people's property?
30:35I'm gonna say we've been hunting this for years.
30:37That doesn't make it right though.
30:38I understand.
30:39How much are you paying for lease here?
30:40Something like I said.
30:42Right, right.
30:43Zero, right?
30:43Yeah.
30:44You know how much this would cost if you had to lease it?
30:46I'd go mad.
30:47Yeah.
30:48All right, well, let's start heading back.
30:52We'll bring you guys back to the house.
31:02Michigan's DNR encourages all people to get outside and take advantage of the many different
31:08things that are available in the form of outdoor recreation all over the state.
31:13Women are one group that they would especially like to see enjoying the outdoors more.
31:17The DNR offers three-day classes that they call Becoming an Outdoors Woman, or BOW.
31:23Women are looking for more opportunities.
31:26They're looking for more opportunities and a comfort, an area where they're comfortable,
31:32where they're capable of stepping outside of their comfort zone for sure, and passionate people.
31:40It's really just about growing and doing something new and learning something new,
31:44and maybe doing it later and maybe not, and that's okay if you don't.
31:47We had one lady today that didn't want to shoot. She shot one gun, and she said,
31:51I'm done. I don't want to shoot. And I said, just do me a favor and shoot this other gun.
31:55Shoot the semi-automatic and see if you like that. And so she ended up shooting all of the guns,
32:00and she did pretty well.
32:01Warden's videographer, Kristen Ojanemi, is taking part in this particular BOW class,
32:07as well as videoing it.
32:09Coming into this assignment, I really didn't have any preconceived idea about it.
32:15I was able to pick the classes that I wanted to take, so I chose self-confidence,
32:21because the conservation officers taught that.
32:24You might still be pretty shy inside, but you don't want that person to see that.
32:28You want that person to see that assertive personality, and you can do that.
32:31Even though that's not really you inside, you can still do that. You can still project that.
32:36Don't be bashful. If you're mad about something, that's your target.
32:40If you hit one of us, it's okay. It's okay. But don't intentionally do it, please.
32:50And I'm going to do it like this and try to push you. Now, slay your fingers.
32:56See, it's a little bit harder.
32:57It's important because we're seeing more women to get in the outdoors,
33:02and I think for them to be comfortable doing that, they sometimes may need some more, you know,
33:07confidence or just some things to think about while they're out in the woods.
33:10Like anybody, you never want to put yourself in a bad situation.
33:14So this class does as a good idea and not really making you a martial artist or a professional fighter,
33:22but it gives you some of the skills to know what to do and you need to fight to get out of it.
33:27Then I took wilderness survival today. Also a really good class, I think, for me to learn
33:32because I'm very interested in backcountry camping. I did that for the first time last year,
33:37and I have always relied on other people to start a fire. So I learned some really good fire
33:43starting techniques, which was great. For a fire to burn successfully, it needs three things.
33:47It needs heat, it needs fuel, and it needs oxygen. Building a fire when you're in an emergency situation,
33:53you want to have something that's going to be easy to use, that you know how to use, and ideally
33:58something like this because it's going to burn for a long time, and it'll give you a chance to get
34:02the fire going. Just going to practice a couple times, and then once you feel like you've got the
34:06hang of it, you start throwing sparks towards your cotton ball, and eventually, I promise,
34:12eventually it catches. What did that take, like six times? Yeah, sometimes it'll be the first,
34:17sometimes it'll be the 20th. One of our participants we had probably 10 years ago who came back and told us that
34:24thanks to us, she was rescued by the Coast Guard, and that was because at the beginning of class,
34:29we teach how to leave your itinerary with someone, and she had done that. That's the best compliment
34:33we can get. And we built like a little primitive shelter to be able to get out of the to the
34:38elements, and I've never done that before, and I found that really interesting. We're looking for a
34:42really long, somewhat straight log, or yeah, does anyone see something like that? Anybody? Anybody? Nobody? Oh, good,
34:53okay. So what we want to do is we want to take this pole, and we want to find maybe like a, you know,
35:01crook in a tree, crotch, people call it. Oh, right there! How interesting! Put it through.
35:07There you go. And try to bring it down if you can into the base. There you go. So the next thing we
35:20want to do is find some long sticks. The longer they are, the higher up on the pole they go, and the
35:28shorter they are, you're going to put them like down here. So we put all the vertical pieces in, now we're
35:33going to start weaving some in horizontally. So now we're going to create like a, these will be small
35:38ones, and they can even be like a web pattern. Now we're going to grab things from the ground,
35:44like piles of leaves. You're going to get your hands dirty, and that's okay, but there's all kinds
35:48of dead leaves. Just grab handfuls of them, grab the dead, the dead ferns, see if you can find some
35:54dead pine boughs, anything you can find on the ground. So now that we have our insulation up,
35:59what we need is some more sticks. Yep, we're going to grab sticks like this, and just start leaning
36:09it up against everything again, because if it gets a little windy, we don't want all of our insulation
36:15to blow away. Okay, so I'm going to call this a pretty darn good shelter. My female friends and family
36:24and stuff, we do have, you know, quite a bit of outdoor experience and getting outdoors, but there's a lot we
36:28don't know. And I think, and I think a lot of us also rely on our spouses or boyfriends to kind of
36:35help and to do things and, you know, keep us safe. And I think this would definitely, if, you know,
36:40I could get them to, you know, go out backpacking with me, like, or something like that, this would
36:45also help them to, you know, get a little bit more confidence in being able to do it themselves,
36:49instead of, you know, having to rely on somebody else to be there and to help them.
36:58Michigan conservation officers, Joe Deppin, Chris Keel, and Brad Solori are working on the
37:07opening day of the state's firearm deer season. They've made contact with five hunters who were
37:12trespassing on a piece of property that is adjacent to a piece owned by one of them.
37:17Your only mistake was is you didn't confirm that you had permission. And why would you when you
37:23trust your friend, right? Well, I'm not happy. You've been told multiple times by the property
37:32owner to stay off. Multiple times. And then you put signs up and then you come out here and rip them
37:38down. What was the first thing you said when we came up? Hey, I'm on my property right here. You
37:44know where the property line is. Yeah, he knows. He knows. Yeah. When you were 32 years old.
37:52Yeah. Which makes it more, um, proves my case better that you know better. Absolutely. You got
37:59your licenses on you or no? No. It's in the truck. It's over here. You got to have your hunt licenses
38:04on you. You know that? Sorry, sir. Sorry is not going to fix the problem. I mean,
38:08what are you going to do if you shoot a deer? You got to tag it. You can't run all the way back here.
38:11I did shoot a deer. Where's your tags? In the truck. Let's go. We'll get moving here so
38:19we can get out about our day and so can you guys. The officers are now working to sort out what
38:24they've observed and who should be issued citations. We got two no orange and then one no license on
38:31person. Loaded firearm on the RV. No hunter's orange on him and then, yeah. All right. If you guys,
38:38you guys want to take those two. In this case, for not wearing hunter orange while hunting,
38:45this man pled guilty and paid a court-ordered fine of $115. I'm not taking your firearm. It's back.
38:52Don't load it. I'm going to give you your shells back. Once we clear the scene, then you can load.
38:56You guys finish out the rest of the day. If you're going to hunt the rest of the day,
38:58hunt on your own property, okay? All right. And put on some orange. Fair enough? Yes, it is.
39:03All right. Thank you. You're all set. In this case, for having a loaded and uncased firearm on his
39:08off-road vehicle, the first hunter the officers contacted pled guilty and paid a court-ordered fine
39:14of $250. For not wearing hunter's orange, he also pled guilty and paid an additional $115.
39:22So here's the deal. You're going to get a citation for possession when you're hunting. You have to
39:27have it with you in the field. So just like the scenario that you had today. Shot a deer, started
39:36tracking it. You had no tags on it. So if you found it, what's the first thing you found? Tag it.
39:41Tag it. Correct. So you didn't have your tags with you. Yeah. If you found a deer, you can go
39:46tag it immediately. I forgot it. It was my fault. I got you. That's a big deal. You're going to get
39:50a citation for that. I'll explain it to you in a minute, okay? In this case, for hunting without
39:56a license in his possession, this hunter paid a court-ordered fine of $110.
40:00What about you? Leave the bullets open. Just make sure you put it on safe.
40:06What's that? That's fine.
40:12What's that? So you didn't get any citations today. Neither did she.
40:17The signs aren't up for the Ruck trespass. Otherwise, you guys would have all been getting
40:20citations for Ruck trespass. I know you said you trusted him, but he said he's been doing this for
40:2430 years. Doesn't make it right. Yeah, point that in the safe direction. So like I said, just learn from
40:29this. You had your orange on, so I'll give you that. I appreciate you wearing that. But
40:32if you're going to hunt a piece of property, either make sure you know who the landowner is,
40:36or you find someone who's not going to have you go trespass on somebody else's property. Okay?
40:40Do you have any questions? Nope. All right. You're all set. Thank you, guys. Sorry.
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