MINNEAPOLIS _ Thrice convicted of trapping violations in northern Minnesota, Roderick "Rick" Kottom was well known to Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officers even before he was charged recently in a new criminal case that made headlines all over the state.
What's different this time, insiders say, is the magnitude and senselessness of an allegedly illegal fur-gathering operation that included 637 illegal snares in four counties and numerous instances of wild game captured and left to waste.
According to 98 pages of DNR investigation reports obtained by the Star Tribune, traps allegedly set by Kottom and Douglas A. Marana, both of Chisholm, caught at least 18 foxes, two wolves, two fishers, five snowshoe hares and one deer all found by game wardens in wire snares. A couple of the animals were found alive, but many were long dead, buried in snow or partly eaten by other animals.
The DNR reports said suspects were actively baiting traps to attract new furbearers while other traps, previously baited at other sites, were holding unchecked game.
"The sheer volume of traps would make it virtually impossible to check every trap daily" as required by law, said Lt. Brent Speldrich, a DNR district enforcement officer in the Duluth area.
Kottom and Marana both refused to be interviewed by DNR investigators, leaving questions about "why?" unanswered. They are each scheduled for arraignment April 13 in St. Louis County Court.
"I would like to see them get nailed," said Frank Brula, an Iron Range trapping instructor who lives in Babbitt. "It seems like they were out to destroy animals, and that's what they did.
"They weren't real trappers."
Marana, 70, could not be reached for comment. Kottom, reached by phone, declined to be interviewed at length. He called the DNR "liars" and said he is looking for a defense attorney to fight the allegations.
"There's a lot of stuff here that is going on," Kottom said. "They've been out for me for a long time."
Kottom, 68, also known as "Papa Fisher," was convicted in 2008 for possession of a mounted Canada lynx, a threatened wildlife species. In 2007, he was convicted of failure to check traps or snares, failure to attach self-identification tags to his traps, and illegal possession of pine marten, otter or fisher. In 2013, Kottom again was convicted of failure to check shares daily.
Marana has no game-related cases listed against him in court records.
