Game Wardens Report Increase in Trespasing Calls

LITTLE FALLS (AP) - Conservation officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are reporting an increase in complaints from landowners about hunters trespassing on their property.

Minnesota's small game, waterfowl, and archery deer seasons are already under way, and the firearm deer season begins Nov. 5.

So the DNR is asking hunters to always ask first before entering private land.

Col. Jim Konrad, the DNR's enforcement director, says it's critical for hunters to have good relationships with landowners. He points out that in some parts of the state, such as southwestern Minnesota, about 95 percent of the land is privately owned.

Trespass penalties range from a $50 civil fine to a criminal penalty of several thousand dollars, confiscation of vehicles and hunting equipment, and revocation of hunting privileges for two or more years.

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