A United States resident has been fined a total of $5,000 for several angling-related offences.
Wojciech Rzepka, of Park Ridge, Ill., was convicted of three counts of possessing a void fishing licence and fined $3,300.
He also was fined $850 for angling without a valid licence and $850 for making a false statement to a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer.
Two prescribed burns are scheduled for ignition in the West Fire Region over the next two days.
Fort Frances District is planning to ignite the Pekagoning Lake prescribed burn, located about 60 km northwest of Atikokan.
The project area is roughly 140 hectares in size and consists of two blocks—one on the mainland and the other on an island.
Many well-intentioned people needlessly remove juvenile animals from a healthy, natural life in the wild.
They think the animal is sick, injured, or orphaned when that often is not the case.
Where an animal is in need of help, it requires specialized care to recover and return to the wild.
Deer hunters in Northwestern Ontario can help monitor for the presence of a fatal disease that affects the animals.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a brain disease that affects members of the deer family (i.e., deer, moose, elk, and potentially caribou).
The disease has never been found in wild animals in Ontario.
No new fires were reported in the West Fire Region over the past week.
No fires are burning in Ontario, with the fire hazard remaining “low” across the province.
Nonetheless, the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services program is urging the public to remain “FireSmart.”
No new fires were reported in the West Fire Region over the weekend.
Currently, there are no active forest fires anywhere in Ontario. Thunder Bay Fire #62 was declared out last Monday (Sept. 13).
To date, there have been 352 fires, consuming 9,598.2 hectares, in the West Fire Region.
At this time last year, there had been 174 fires burning 13,479 ha.
Grouse hunting season opened today across most of Northwestern Ontario.
Ruffed grouse, spruce grouse, and sharp-tailed grouse are the most common upland game birds in the northwest.
The daily limit for ruffed grouse and spruce grouse is a combined total of five.
The possession limit is a combined total of 15.
Two South Dakota men have been fined a total of $3,400 for offences related to an illegal bear hunt near Ignace
John Gubbrud, of Alcester, pleaded guilty to illegally hunting a black bear and providing hunting services to a non-resident of Ontario without a licence.
He was fined $3,000.
It was a very quiet day in the West Fire Region yesterday as heavy rain fell throughout most of the region within the last 24hrs.
The forest fire hazard remains “low” and will likely remain there for the week.
Last year, 67 days of support were provided for a total of 21,605 person days involving 1,014 individuals.
A two-day enforcement blitz by Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers on a lake near Atikokan found many individuals to be in violation of a variety of fishing and boating regulations.
On July 29-30, conservation officers checked 125 individuals on Basswood Lake, located on the Canada/U.S. border south of Atikokan.
