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00:00Conservation officers in District 7 and 8 check on deer hunters and waterfowl hunters in October
00:15on the opening day for each season. The camera's there, the bait's there, tree stands here. Also,
00:21a look at a rehab facility that works very closely with the state's DNR to help rehabilitate injured
00:27wildlife. A turkey hunt with a person tasked with overseeing the state's DNR. My favorite species
00:35to hunt are turkeys. I grew up in the DNR. I'm a lifer here. She really has grown into a really
00:43good hunter. Also, Michigan Conservation officers in District 3 and 6 check on hunters during the
00:50peak of the firearm deer season. A three-year-old mouse tag. She's not here. The first thing that
00:56she shot it and then went home, but I called mom on the phone and she admitted that she
01:00didn't shoot it. He shot it. Wild animals and wild places. They're more than a picture. They're
01:09inspiration, excitement, and adventure. Patrolling and protecting these natural resources is a
01:16first-class band of peace officers. These are the wardens, dedicated to the preservation
01:22of our great outdoors.
01:24The state of Michigan offers a wide array of outdoor recreational activities year-round. Whether it's
01:51hunting, angling, snowmobiling, riding off-road vehicles, or a myriad of other options, there's
01:57always something available outside for people to enjoy. With so much to do, the state's conservation
02:02officers are typically always busy and always have something to monitor to protect the resources
02:07of the Great Lakes State. In District 7, CO Jeremy Beavers is on patrol on the opening day for hunting
02:17white-tailed deer with archery equipment. While driving his patrol truck, he notices two men walking
02:22alongside the road. They're pulling a deer cart that's empty. They appear to be heading towards the woods.
02:28Do you know where the deer's at right now? Oh, no. Well, not exactly, but I know where I shot it at.
02:35Alright, let's take a walk. Alright.
02:58We're gonna make the long trek back. Good seeing you on these terms.
03:14I told you. Be patient. If you've seen that yearling, a big one had to be wrong.
03:20Thank you, sir.
03:23All right. We're going to make the long trek back.
03:26Good seeing you on these terms.
03:28Yeah.
03:28Thank you, sir.
03:30Prior to his encounter with a successful doe hunter,
03:33Officer Beavers set out to check some spots on public land where he noticed bait.
03:38This block, I checked it a week, a week and a half ago.
03:44And there was remnants of a third block and there was a bunch of corn as well.
03:50So it is actively baited.
03:57Just doesn't look like our hunter's here right now.
04:00No one is hunting in the first spot he checks.
04:03When he parks his patrol truck to check the next stand,
04:06C.O. Beavers spots a truck parked in the same lot.
04:09The walk from the patrol truck to the second stand takes almost 10 minutes.
04:14Still on that.
04:23How are you doing? Conservation officer.
04:25Good.
04:25Good. How are you?
04:26Good.
04:27Why don't you come on down for me?
04:30careful
04:38you just get here yeah not too long ago okay
04:45it's not trapped in very tight there were you taking it down
04:55okay good how are you good so what's going on
05:04you know just trying to fix it what's going on right there
05:08I have no idea you didn't put that there no okay this your tree stand my
05:17buddies who's your buddy what time do you get in today all right
05:23so your buddy he knows you're using his tree stand he
05:28doesn't mind all right he didn't tell you the stand was baited no I had no idea I
05:34came out here when it was almost dark so how good of buddies are you guys just
05:39from okay came out here just before dark got a little loose you decided to fix it
05:56yeah it was a little loose up there I didn't want to fall okay I had a couple surgeries so
06:01at what point did you notice the bait there I didn't notice it until you guys said something
06:09because like I said I've been up there for a little bit it was loose so I came down
06:13brought my stuff down and okay that's your buddy's trail cam over there uh yep we're gonna
06:24see you on pictures before today I don't know yes or no I don't you might see me on there yeah
06:29okay okay I'm not there right so the camera's there yeah the bait's there tree stands here yep
06:37I'm gonna see your pictures on that camera before today okay so you should have known the bait was
06:45there if you didn't place it you should have known right right right did you place the bait yes this
06:51is your tree stand yep year-round and particularly in the fall different dates on the calendar mean the
06:57opening and closing of various seasons in Michigan approximately two weeks after the archery opener
07:03for white-tailed deer hunting statewide the waterfowl season opens in the state's south zone in district 8
07:10conservation officer Mark Mankowski is checking hunters who are targeting ducks and geese
07:27they bring the good luck so there's one guy on this edge just like probably 100 yards around the corner and then there's decoys on that side but I can't see where they're at so basically there's like a little peninsula that comes out and connects the two ponds or it goes right in between them so you can just hide or
07:49we'll just go up that way and go check that guy he's a stand up in the woods so have you done so far this morning one guy over there skybusting everything yeah I heard a bunch of shots right at first light are they the ones shooting at first light
07:55uh yeah I was out here but nothing flies my way okay I don't go down far enough yeah stamps in there as well okay well do you have any birds with you nope I haven't been I don't shoot nothing gotcha
08:02gotcha
08:04go check that guy go check that guy he's just standing up in the woods so
08:06how have you done so far this morning one guy over there skybusting everything yeah I heard a bunch of shots right at first light are they the ones shooting at first light
08:10uh yeah I was out here but nothing flies my way okay I didn't go down far enough yeah
08:16uh stamps in there as well okay do you have any birds with you nope I haven't been I don't shoot nothing gotcha
08:26uh you got a piece of grass in there too yeah I saw that
08:32cool that's good there sweet and then I'll just take a look at some of the shells you got on your person and then you got your stuff over there too
08:40yeah my bag's over there yeah we can walk over that way no problems my fours and my tubes okay cool
08:56my nice little six-meat holder just kind of chilling there yeah floating around a little bit
09:01hey man at least you're out here though yeah so that's that battle so yeah feel free to go ahead and keep hunting man
09:06all right um and good luck the rest of the season thank you appreciate it yeah have a good one thank you
09:19we'll just keep pointing in a good direction for me
09:22it's all right yep you guys good how you guys been doing so far
09:26oh a lot of missing
09:29it's expensive
09:31yeah cool cool cool
09:32you guys got any birds we got one uh female wood duck right here
09:36okay nice nice okay cool just want to double check that good one
09:40all right cool and then we'll go ahead with you
09:43can't fit perfect
09:45that sounds good and then you guys are also just heads up too you're like really flirting with like the railroad stuff
09:51um so like as long as like within the railroad grade it's actually trespassing
09:54for a ritz like a railroad trespass so all the rocks and everything and going up like you can't be on
10:02can't do anything literally you're flirting on it for sure
10:05sorry about that
10:06no no no so i mean you're not setting up your blind and everything on there but just give you a heads up
10:09but just give you a heads up
10:19C.O. Mankowski navigated through thick brush and some wet spots in his shift
10:25it's about to get muddy
10:26to reach a group of friends hunting birds he spotted them from a distance a short time before he made contact with them
10:32conservation officer
10:34how you guys doing?
10:36good good good
10:38you just want to make sure the gun's pointing in a safe direction
10:40perfect
10:43if you guys are all legal we're going to keep shooting
10:46sweet
10:48I got work at too when I've been up since 4 30 so
10:51it's going to be a rough day for me
10:53for sure where you work at?
10:54I just work at Walmart right now
10:55right on
10:56I thought we were going to be high and dry and then you guys were just like 20 yards further than what I wanted you to be
11:00take a look at your shells
11:02dude
11:04you guys got all steel shot?
11:06yeah all steel shot
11:07cool because we're going to check them so just the goal is hey if you've got something you're supposed to
11:11give us a heads up otherwise it's starting to get shady and then it gets stupid
11:16these some of your other ones?
11:18yeah
11:19yeah
11:21alright
11:22what are you hunting with these ones?
11:25um
11:27my will if
11:28my white ones are out but I
11:30I think a box is a white one
11:32okay
11:34cause these aren't coming up
11:35they're not?
11:36yeah
11:38nitro mags
11:41six shot
11:43that's six shot?
11:44yeah
11:46I don't shoot six shot
11:48on this side
11:49all of ours are two
11:51I got two or three shot that's what I've been shooting
11:54yeah
11:55so those aren't steel?
11:56no
11:58so there's a three shot
12:02well I just grabbed the box I didn't think it would be mixed
12:05mixed
12:06mixed
12:07yeah
12:08cause the other box that I had they weren't, they weren't my shells
12:10see
12:11that one is
12:12I think yeah cause I have
12:13so half the green ones are half the green ones aren't
12:15yeah
12:16there's a mix of greens that I had with them reds
12:18how long have you been duck hunting for?
12:19uh
12:21two
12:22this is my second year
12:23okay
12:24so
12:25this would be my third
12:27yeah
12:28I started
12:29you started one year after us
12:30you started coming up with us third
12:31yeah
12:32where are you guys from?
12:33uh
12:34Grand Ledge
12:35okay
12:37alright
12:39all the other ones look good
12:41this is one of like the bigger issues with us
12:43four or five kind of priority violations
12:45yeah
12:46baiting
12:47steel shot
12:48non-steel shot
12:49things like that
12:50um
12:51so unfortunately like this is like a
12:52like if it was something else
12:53like no name on a
12:54um
12:55on your duck stamp
12:56that's something we can
12:57possibly work with
12:58things like that
12:59as long as you guys are cool
13:00which you guys haven't
13:01but the non-toxic shot
13:02or the toxic shot
13:03that's the stuff that's
13:04big no no for us
13:05um
13:06that's a violation
13:07yeah
13:08um
13:09so our truck's back there
13:10yeah
13:11um
13:12if you don't mind coming with me
13:13these are your shot
13:14yeah
13:15okay
13:16Michigan Conservation Officer Mark Mankowski
13:17is assigned to patrol
13:18Eaton County
13:19in southern
13:20central Michigan
13:21one organization
13:22in this county
13:23that C.O. Mankowski
13:24interacts with often
13:25is Wildside Rehabilitation
13:27and Education Center
13:28Wildside
13:29has been rehabbing animals
13:30for almost 30 years
13:32I always knew
13:33for
13:34probably since I was five years old
13:35I was going to be a teacher
13:36and
13:37the men
13:38were always
13:39the
13:40um
13:41veterinarians
13:42so I never thought
13:43oh I could be a veterinarian
13:44like other calling
13:45um
13:46but wildlife rehab
13:47became kind of my passion also
13:48so
13:49I started about 34 years ago
13:50at another rehab center
13:51in Grand Lodge
13:52it was called Critter Alley
13:53um
13:54I started with my sister
13:55she's like hey let's do this together
13:57about three months in
13:58she's like I can't take it anymore
13:59it's dirty
14:00it's nasty
14:01and I'm like I love this
14:02this is my thing
14:03um
14:04this is an eastern screech owl
14:05she came in last night
14:07um
14:08um
14:09not in too bad a shape
14:11we think she might have
14:12um
14:13either got hit by a car
14:14or
14:15um
14:16like a window strike
14:17she has some
14:18um
14:19a little bit of bruising
14:20on her
14:21nares there
14:22so
14:23she's just kind of hanging out
14:24we want to see if she'll eat
14:25on her own
14:26so
14:27one came from Greenville
14:29and one came from Roscommon
14:30we're actually getting a third tomorrow
14:32from Roscommon
14:33they came as kittens
14:35and they will
14:36be released in the spring as adults
14:39we do not handle
14:41do not interact
14:43we feed them and
14:44make sure they have enrichment
14:45they are definitely wild animals
14:47there are approximately 50
14:49licensed animal rehabilitators
14:51in the state of Michigan
14:52they all work closely
14:53with the state's DNR
14:54I have had conservation officers
14:56meet me places
14:57they are right there
14:59um
15:00they know when I say Louise
15:01from Wildside who that is
15:02and that what we need is serious
15:04and I wouldn't call them otherwise
15:05I just think that the work that Wildside does
15:08and other rehabbers around the state
15:09and around the country
15:10um
15:11a lot of it probably goes unnoticed
15:12um
15:13but they do incredible work
15:14to help out
15:15you know animals that
15:16got stuck in unfortunate situations
15:17or
15:18in the process of
15:19you know
15:20maybe people doing illegal things
15:21and
15:22you know doing bad things to animals
15:23and they're there to hopefully
15:24give them a second chance
15:25when I pick up the phone
15:26and I see anonymous
15:27and I'm like
15:28it's the DNR
15:29cause that's how it comes across
15:30um
15:31and we try to do everything we can
15:33to help them
15:34wildlife rehabilitators
15:35are really important
15:36to the Department of Natural Resources
15:38in general
15:39everybody thinks
15:40if they find an injured
15:41or orphaned animal
15:42well we'll call the DNR
15:43they'll come out
15:44take care of it
15:45or you know
15:46they must come and rescue this bird
15:47but in reality
15:49if it weren't for wildlife rehabilitators
15:51you know the department
15:52both the law enforcement division
15:54and wildlife division
15:55we wouldn't have anywhere to turn
15:57these people to help with these animals
15:59so they're really good partners to us
16:01this is the one that's going to go to the Smithsonian Zoo
16:04at the end of the month
16:05so they got in contact with us
16:07when we advertised that we had a non-releasable crane
16:11and um
16:12they wanted to use her in an exhibit
16:18animal rehabilitators usually start out by volunteering with another rehabber
16:23or at a veterinary clinic
16:24they need to get experience interacting with wild animals
16:27I could never do this on my own
16:29no I'm a full-time worker also
16:31I'm a special ed teacher
16:32and um
16:33I started with only one volunteer
16:36and obviously has grown to 3,500 animals a year
16:39and 40 people that help us
16:41and thousands of volunteer hours
16:43I really love it
16:44I did not like
16:45my first day was working with the birds mostly
16:48um
16:49they poop a lot
16:51and sometimes you have to get a scraper
16:53and it's just a lot more dirty work than I was expecting
16:56um
16:57but in all honesty
16:58I really enjoy it
16:59maybe
17:00a little too much
17:01I think it's just fun
17:02to you know
17:03it's very fulfilling
17:04um
17:05I do mostly
17:06I just go work in the mammal room now
17:08the possums are my favorite
17:09just being able to do that is very fun
17:11but definitely the dirtiness was the most shocking
17:14Like many rehabilitators throughout the state
17:17Wildside is a not-for-profit organization that relies heavily on donations
17:22as well as volunteers
17:23Don't hesitate to reach out for donating food or anything that they might need
17:27um
17:28just goes a really long way
17:29because a lot of times they're working off a lot of grants and things like that
17:31um
17:32so any help is greatly encouraged
17:33getting an animal saved
17:36and actually keeping it alive
17:39feels so great
17:40especially with the rafters
17:42once they fly off
17:43once we get that release
17:45it's just like
17:46like
17:47yes
17:56Michigan Conservation Officer Mark Mankowski
17:59is patrolling on the opening day for waterfowl hunting in the state's south zone
18:03he's encountered a hunter who has shotgun shells that are not allowed when targeting waterfowl
18:08CO Mankowski and the hunter with illegal shells return to their vehicles
18:13So here's your license bag
18:15um
18:16with your age and everything
18:17um
18:18the last thing we want to do is
18:19to have this be your first kind of
18:21this is your first time with the interaction with the DNR in the field
18:23yeah
18:24last thing we want to do is to have that interaction be a ticket citation and everything
18:28um
18:29understand that this is like I mentioned one of the priority violations for waterfowl
18:32so we have to make sure that everything in your bag
18:34don't just grab the bag and go
18:35yeah
18:36just do a double check and everything
18:37um
18:38that little plug checker I had
18:39yeah
18:40has a little magnet on it
18:41if it sticks then you know it's steel
18:42um
18:43so that's good
18:44if it doesn't then you know
18:45so just make sure um
18:46these gotta go with me
18:47but we're just gonna give you a warning today
18:48um
18:49like I said it could be a misdemeanor violation
18:50and then
18:51you don't want that on your record
18:52or
18:53you know the fines and everything that go along with it
18:55so
18:56um
18:57you're allowed to go back out and hunt and everything
18:58but just make sure
18:59before you go hunting and all that every single time
19:01you just do a quick check of the bag
19:02or
19:03if you just have your new box
19:04yeah
19:05and then just keep everything separate
19:06and keep all your
19:07turkey
19:08and everything like that
19:09keep that
19:10completely separate clay shoot
19:11clay shot
19:12and then all your duck hunting stuff in a separate bag
19:14and that way you know always before you go on the field
19:16alright
19:17cool man
19:18so we'll just let you off in the morning
19:19but just understand that
19:20hey
19:21this is one of the big ones for us
19:22so
19:23alright man
19:24alright have a good day
19:25yeah you too man
19:26approximately two weeks before the waterfowl season
19:28opened in the state south soon
19:29the archery season for hunting white tail deer started
19:32the archery opener is frequently warm
19:34and may not be as good for deer movement as later in the season
19:38in the state's district 7
19:40conservation officer Jeremy Beavers is working on October 1st
19:46the archery opener
19:47he has encountered a hunter who was hunting over bait
19:50which is a violation
19:52where's your molasses at
19:53cause you know
19:54you know
19:55you can tell me
19:56you weren't baiting before
19:57but your jar of molasses
19:58I think that's what you used
19:59yeah
20:00it was out here last year as well
20:01I have all the pictures
20:03CO Beavers
20:04and this hunter
20:05have a long walk back to their trucks
20:06from the hunter's tree stand
20:07it was roughly a half mile back
20:09which
20:11good for him for making the hike
20:13cause he was an older gentleman
20:15but
20:16it's
20:17something like that
20:18you know
20:19you gotta set the time aside to go check
20:20cause you know
20:21you're gonna be back there a while
20:22you know
20:23if you would've shot a deer over that bait
20:25could be considered an illegal deer
20:28it's an illegal method
20:31I mean with the doe alone
20:34that'll get you a couple years revoked
20:36some heavy restitution
20:38and then you know
20:40with a buck
20:42depending on the size
20:43it could cost
20:44thousands of dollars
20:47I got a case going through the courts right now
20:50you know
20:51he's looking at
20:52potentially over ten thousand dollars
20:55in this case
20:56for baiting in a prohibited county
20:58this hunter pled guilty
20:59and paid a court ordered fine
21:01of two hundred ninety two dollars
21:03he was instructed to remove his stand
21:05he can no longer
21:07hunt from that location
21:08cause it's baited
21:09you know the bait was covered up
21:10the best we could
21:11with what we had available
21:12I mean we had nothing to take it out
21:14I appreciate the uh
21:16the honesty
21:17yeah like I said
21:18you tried
21:19I
21:20what am I doing
21:22I'm just
21:23I might as well just tell him the truth
21:24instead of laughing
21:25it's gonna get me in more trouble
21:26I knew
21:27yeah I knew the truth already
21:28so
21:29you know
21:30that's why I asked those questions
21:31cause I knew the answer
21:32just like my wife says
21:33lion don't get you anywhere
21:35yeah
21:36so
21:37okay
21:38thank you sir
21:39thank you
21:40appreciate it
21:41have a good day
21:42yep you too
21:43white tail deer hunting is a popular activity in the fall for both Michigan residents and visitors
21:48the state's archery season opens on October 1st and its firearm season opens approximately six weeks later
21:54the firearm season typically has more people in the woods than any other time of the year
21:59as a result conservation officers are constantly in the woods during the season
22:04they also utilize a variety of tactics to do their best to protect the state's natural resources
22:10in the state's district six
22:14officer Mike Haas is working during the first full weekend of the state's firearm deer season
22:20he's a part of a group patrol where a DNR plane is in the air and radioing to officers on the ground
22:26when they spot suspicious activity from the sky
22:28look for people shining you can't shine this time of the year in November
22:32look for people coming out of the woods or maybe tracking deer and stuff like that
22:35it's just a really good tool to have the plane up in the air
22:39they can help us a lot and pinpoint us to check certain areas out that we wouldn't see
22:44without the plane up in the air
22:46so
22:47we're making our way over to Isabella County
22:49and we're going to check the north end
22:51with the state's plane overlooking another county
22:53C.O. Haas works from his truck closely monitoring what he sees around him
22:58he's paying close attention to vehicles that look like they would be long to deer hunters
23:07how's it going?
23:08nothing too crazy you just have a headlight out
23:10so I wanted to let you know about that
23:12okay
23:13I hit a deer on the way out hunting this morning
23:15today?
23:16so you got a deer today?
23:17yeah not the
23:19not the way you wanted to?
23:20no he loved it
23:21oh really?
23:22okay
23:23yeah I wasn't very happy about that because I didn't see anything worth shooting
23:25okay
23:26so no luck no other deer this year hunting?
23:28nothing?
23:29no
23:30you don't have a rifle or anything on you?
23:31no I don't
23:32okay you been out hunting?
23:33yeah
23:34did you get anything?
23:35no
23:36not even the youth hunt?
23:37no
23:38no okay
23:39no okay
23:40I don't believe it
23:41a lot of people say that so
23:42yeah I never know some people do
23:43so
23:44okay well at least you know that's broken so just get that taken care of
23:47because the deputy or something might give you a ticket for that
23:49so
23:50yeah I saw you I kind of figured you out
23:51yeah I'm like eh he's got a headlight
23:52it wasn't working
23:53right
23:54yep yep
23:55he didn't signal and his headlight was out
23:56but okay but uh
23:57good luck when you get back out okay guys
23:58we just did a quick traffic stop
24:00there was a truck
24:01I was at the stop sign and a truck pulled up with a
24:03headlight burnt out and no turn signal and he turned in front of me
24:07so it was a reason to stop him right there
24:10and it's a good you know it's a good excuse to make contact with people this time of the year too
24:14he had a truck so who knows he could have had a dead deer in the back of the truck
24:17or a loaded rifle in the back seat or something so
24:20nothing crazy like that though he actually hit a deer this morning
24:23he said on his way to go hunting so
24:25he got a deer today but not the way he wanted to
24:27so
24:28you never know though a traffic stop could lead into something else
24:31but that was not the case
24:33during the firearm deer season
24:35Michigan's conservation officers are very busy
24:38approximately 130 miles north of where Officer Haas is patrolling
24:42CEO Dan Listenfeltz is also checking on deer hunters in the state's District 3
24:50Officer Listenfeltz is checking some of the popular hunting spots in his county
24:55there's a guy sitting on the shoulder here
24:57facing the trees
25:02hunting
25:04getting prime time
25:09Hunter's sitting on the shoulder of the road
25:12about 15 yards from his truck
25:15sitting on the shoulder of the road not even facing the roadway
25:18so maybe he'll have something walk between him and the truck who knows
25:21it's prime time right now
25:23there's no need to sit there and talk to him and check his license when it's prime time
25:28he's just sitting on the side of the road hunting
25:30he's in plain sight
25:31probably obviously has a license
25:32so I don't want to ruin his hunt
25:34just because that's where he chooses to sit
25:36so just do a little wave
25:38let him know that we're out and about
25:39and let him do his thing
25:41right across from his truck
25:43he just leaves his gun pointed
25:45pointed right at us right now
25:47right out the window
25:49you see that?
25:59hello
26:04how are you?
26:09good
26:10your gun here
26:12okay
26:13it's totally legal to hunt on the shoulder of a road
26:16okay
26:17your gun can't just be standing out the window like that
26:19all the time
26:20okay there's cars coming down the road
26:21I don't like a gun pointed at me when I'm driving away from a blind okay?
26:24okay
26:25okay
26:26do you guys have your ids on you?
26:27at all?
26:29you guys from around here?
26:30yeah
26:31right here in Atlanta or Hillman?
26:32Hillman
26:33okay
26:34yeah born and raised here
26:35okay
26:36Shannon Lott is the acting director for Michigan's Department of Natural Resources
26:50in this role she oversees the entirety of the state's DNR
26:54it's a big responsibility but one that she's been preparing for over the course of her career
26:59I grew up in the DNR I'm a lifer here
27:01I started as a seasonal like many of our folks
27:04so seven years as a seasonal
27:06working on game areas
27:07picking up garbage
27:08doing signs
27:09and then moved into full-time technician job
27:12and then moved into Lansing our headquarters after that
27:16was in wildlife for 20 years
27:18then went over to be the assistant chief in forestry for a couple years
27:23and then ended up in the executive office
27:25when this administration the Whitmer administration came in
27:28and Dan Eichinger was named our director
27:30he asked me to serve as the natural resource deputy director
27:34the experience that director Lott gained through her DNR career
27:37has provided her with unique insight as she makes decisions in her current role
27:42so a lot of summer work really helps you understand how things work in the DNR
27:47how we look at species populations
27:49how we work on habitat
27:51how statewide regulations are made
27:54so a lot of that early work in the field helped me understand how the department works
27:59and how things in Michigan work
28:01director Lott grew up hunting with her father
28:03she has fond memories of those times which laid a foundation for her outdoor skills and passion
28:09sixth or seventh grade I started going out with my dad
28:12and it was kind of funny because back then
28:14you couldn't hunt until you were 14 with a gun in the state of Michigan
28:18so I was sort of a tag-along right
28:20so but I still was out hunting as far as carrying decoys on my back for waterfowl hunting
28:25she took to it naturally she was just fabulous eager to learn
28:31and we over time we had some just fabulous hunts
28:37and but she really has grown into a really good hunter
28:45my favorite species to hunt are turkeys
28:48early on a Saturday morning in mid-May
28:50Director Lott is in a ground blind targeting turkeys
28:53she's utilizing a slate call
28:55she's also being helped by her dad and her son
28:57who are calling to gobblers and hens from behind her blind
29:00so this morning we had a setup on a field that was a planted corn field
29:05and we put a pop-up blind on the edge of the field
29:09a point from out from the woods
29:12because we had some brush in the way that we wanted to make sure we were in front of
29:16so we got that we had a decoy set three decoys out
29:19I couldn't have drawn it any better
29:21we had a good location
29:23I've scouted these birds
29:25we've hunted this area before
29:27it played out as I hoped it would
29:29the birds came down flew down into the field which is perfect
29:32the hens came first there was a smoky gray hen
29:35we had birds from Pennsylvania Missouri and Iowa over time
29:39that were transplanted here to Michigan
29:41so that was really neat to see the smoky gray hen come out first this morning
29:45and then a couple hens with her
29:47me and my grandpa were sitting kind of behind the pop-up blind this morning
29:51we were hearing the birds gobble about 80 yards in a tree to the left of us
29:57and we thought they were going to be more in front of us further away
30:01when they came down they flew like right in front of us out into the field's edge
30:04we saw that first smoky gray out in the field and we were watching it for a while
30:09the birds were talkative and they came in quick
30:14once the old hen made her mind up to come toward our decoy setup
30:19then it kind of the toms flew down and came right in
30:24the large tom came into the field with a couple smaller toms and a jake and started to display
30:30and as he turned he started to go sort of back towards the woods
30:35so I decided I should take a shot before they came all the way over into my decoy set
30:50we started calling right at daylight and heard at least three toms in the tree
30:55and a couple hens which is always good so that you have hens come down first
31:00and kind of bring those toms to your decoys
31:04three toms in that group and I picked the tom with the longest beard here
31:09this is probably 11 or 12 inch beard on this bird
31:15thought he was going to turn that way and head in there so I took a shot from the blind and we got him
31:22so I use a 12 gauge National Wild Turkey Federation gun with an inscription on it so
31:31it's a nice gun with a full choke
31:35the blessing that comes with hunting with your grandson and your daughter is just
31:41it's indescribable
31:43it's a great feeling and really makes you think that you're doing and have done
31:50a pretty good job at directing their life in this area
31:56I've been hunting for as long as I can remember with my mom and grandpa
31:59and it's just it creates memories like that'll last a lifetime
32:02and you know I'm just so thankful for that
32:05and you know you remember mornings like this
32:07and you know you get the job done
32:10makes you feel even better about it
32:12makes you grow closer with one another
32:14makes you grow closer with nature
32:16there's just so many memories that can come with it
32:19and it's just awesome to get out with your family
32:23and get away from things and just kind of set things aside
32:26and there's nothing like it
32:28Michigan Conservation Officer Dan Listenfels is working the first full weekend of the state's firearm deer season in mid-November
32:33he's working some of the less populated areas of his county where he believes people are likely to be hunting
32:51he's come across two hunters right next to the road who have a firearm sticking out the window of their blind directly towards the roadway
32:58just the one rifle in there?
33:00no I got mine
33:01I'm laying up in the corner
33:02oh I gotcha okay
33:04where did she put hers at?
33:07I set it in the corner with mine too
33:09oh I gotcha okay
33:11alright
33:12did you get your hunting license on you?
33:13yeah
33:14yeah my dad lives right here on Funk Road
33:18okay
33:19okay
33:20so basically we were driving down the road and the hunters in this blind had a rifle pointed out the window
33:27pointed right in the middle of the roadway we drive by and they never move it so it's pointed right at us
33:33and obviously it's pointed at that truck that drove past too
33:36we were talking to them and this is a careless you know handling of a firearm
33:41so I'm gonna run them here and see if they have any issues and see what we do here
33:49probably just end up giving her a warning
33:51it seems like she's not a big hunter she just has one deer tag
33:55usually that implies you know not all the time but you know they're not out hunting everyday
34:00they're not a hardcore hunter so this might just be an educational thing it was her that was in possession of the gun
34:06okay here's your guys' ideas back okay
34:08all right
34:09sorry to bother you at prime time okay
34:11but if you're gonna be hunting on the roadway it's different than normal okay
34:15I mean you gotta be extra wary of where your gun's at okay
34:18I know safety's probably on and all that but you never know
34:21you don't wanna shoot a car driving by okay
34:23all right you guys are all set
34:25enjoy your hunt okay
34:26the next day C.O. Listenfels joins a group patrol with some of his fellow conservation officers
34:31as well as troopers from the Michigan State Police
34:34so we're doing a traffic detail with MSP
34:38basically we're looking for illegal deer tagging violations
34:43weapon transport violations
34:45so our setup here we have a trooper sitting up the road here on M-33
34:50looking for mainly trucks vehicles with trailers quads
34:56anybody looks like they might be coming from a deer camp heading south
34:59and basically calling out speeds
35:02and you know anyone speeding that we want to look into we're gonna be stopping
35:08sergeant Mike Machar has pulled over a man that was speeding
35:12and has three deer in the bed of his truck
35:1883 year old Maz Tag
35:20she's not here
35:21that person claimed that she shot it and then went home
35:23but I called mom on the phone and she admitted that she didn't shoot it
35:26he shot it
35:27did he have a combo?
35:29he has
35:30the rest of his here
35:31he shot this one
35:32okay
35:33but that one was the one that he shot
35:34Tag
35:35yes
35:36okay
35:37alright
35:38you got it pulled out then
35:39yup
35:40you got a fire if you want a backup
35:42a little bit
35:43get it pulled out
35:44more than 100 miles south of where Officer Listenfels is patrolling
35:48C.O. Mike Hawes is also working the first weekend of the firearm deer season
35:53the state plane that's looking for suspicious activity has noticed a truck in the area where Officer Haas is
35:59you still have eyes on that vehicle?
36:00affirmative they're a quarter mile east of that intersection still slow rolling
36:06I have you
36:07okay I think I'm going to pull over here so I can get behind them
36:21I think that is a bad stretch of road so they could just be avoiding potholes
36:25Michigan Conservation Officer Mike Haas is looking for deer hunters in his county in mid-Michigan
36:40were you all hunting or anything?
36:41no
36:42okay we just had reports of some trucks slow rolling and stuff so this area people shine and shoot a lot
36:48so I was making sure that's not what you're doing
36:50no
36:51okay
36:52you don't have a loaded rifle or anything crazy in the
36:53no
36:54mind if I check real quick just to believe it or not I do get lied to sometimes
36:56no
36:57okay
36:58just want to make sure you don't got any pile of dead deer or a loaded rifle or anything
37:01like
37:02not in trouble or anything
37:04no no I
37:05perfect
37:06okay
37:07yeah
37:08no I know I'm just doing my job right and get a call and a complaint that people are slow rolling
37:12so just making sure you weren't doing anything you were not supposed to be doing
37:15yeah we got to see Santa Claus laying tonight
37:17yeah
37:18oh did you guys go to the reindeer farm?
37:19yep
37:20yep
37:21oh cool
37:22that was pretty neat
37:23did you see the plane he jumped on or did he?
37:24yeah yeah he flew right over top about three times
37:26that's pretty cool
37:27then we watched him come down
37:28cool
37:29yeah
37:30well just making sure nobody was up to any shenanigans
37:32so I'm glad
37:33no I appreciate you guys are doing what you're supposed to be doing
37:35so
37:36never hunted a day in my life
37:37really?
37:38you surrounded by all these farm fields and deer everywhere?
37:40yeah I grew up in Beale City
37:41okay
37:42we've never
37:43never hunted
37:44okay
37:45we got grandpa inside
37:46okay
37:47grandpa's
37:48well my dad was never a hunter
37:49so we never hunted
37:50that makes sense
37:51yep
37:52yeah
37:53okay
37:54sorry for the
37:55no no you guys are fine sorry to bug you
37:56enjoy your night okay?
37:57Sergeant Mike Machar has contacted a man with three deer in the bed of his truck
38:01one of the deer has a tag on it which indicates the deer was shot by the elderly mother of the man driving the truck
38:07she is not in the vehicle with him
38:09so basically a vehicle went by there was two deer visible in the back one of the deer had a tag that was visible on the antlers the other deer you couldn't see the tag you could just see the legs sticking up
38:19stopped the vehicle after talking to the driver he admitted that he had killed one of the bucks a couple days ago and that his mom his 83 year old mom had killed the other buck opening day I asked where she was he stated that she had to go home early from camp while they lived downstate because she was sick so asked a few more questions and he wasn't making a whole lot of sense about when his mom got the deer or where she got it
38:32take both of them kind of in the same spot take both deer in the same spot pretty much or same blind same line where's where's that at
38:39what's that where was that at green rogers okay
38:45oh
38:47okay
38:51okay
38:55that's i'm just wondering but if you want to do you want to if you can lift up the back if you can lift the rear end and kind of chuck it over the side i'll pull it away from the truck here
39:16oh
39:18oh
39:19okay
39:20do you want to throw it
39:21okay
39:22yep all right yep go ahead drop it
39:23all right
39:24all right
39:29when he gave me uh i said you got any other tags he's like yep and he showed me this and this has a and i said what's that all about he goes oh i accidentally nicked it when i was you know tagging my other deer and that that told me there was something going on
39:45he had started to notch november on his other half of his combo tag that caught my attention as well so i asked a few more questions asked her mom's phone number called 83 year old mom up on the phone who then admitted to me that she was up got feeling not real well so went home and that her son actually shot the deer and used her tag
40:05in this case for putting his mother's tag on the deer that he shot this man paid a court ordered fine of three hundred fifty dollars additionally he also paid two thousand dollars in restitution to the state of michigan for his illegal deer
40:20all right
40:30all right that'll work
40:31pretty cut and dried he said that he wanted to save his other tag for muzzle loading season and that's why he tagged uh his other buck with his mom's tag so kind of common but uh still illegal and uh shouldn't have done it
40:44shouldn't have done it
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