New DNR conservation officer arrives to Silver Bay
Megan Frazen is the new Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer serving the North Shore.
Franzen began in the position based in the Silver Bay area on Dec. 3.
As a Minnesota native from Brainerd, Franzen has spent considerable time in the northern Minnesota landscape.
After graduating from the University of Minnesota-Crookston in 2018, she spent time as a park ranger in Colorado and Montana. “I just really fell in love with natural resource law enforcement, and that just kind of led me down this path,” Franzen said.
“I knew I wanted to get into being a game warden or a conservation officer somewhere,” Frazen said.
With her family in the Brainerd, Minn., area, she returned to the Midwest and began training with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). She completed her year of training to become a conservation officer on Dec. 3, 2024, the same day she stepped into the new role in Silver Bay.
The North Shore and Arrowhead region has been without a female conservation officer since January 2023, when Mary Manning, based in the Hovland area, retired. Now, with Franzen’s arrival, that role is no longer vacant.
Franzen said it holds significance to her to step into the position as a woman. “It’s kind of exciting to be able to fill that position.”
She said since a young age, she has admired female park rangers and law enforcement agents. “That ended up being the reason why I got into this position,” Franzen said. “I look forward to being in that role now.”
For the past few weeks, Franzen has monitored snowmobile and ice fishing activity in the field. Despite the variable trail and ice conditions, she said she had encountered a decent amount of activity. She said some of the trails near Isabella and Finland have not yet had maintenance or grooming done. Individuals should expect to encounter downed trees on trails.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Conservation Officer Megan Franzen about her first couple of weeks, snow and ice conditions, and more. The audio from the interview is below.
Kalli Hawkins December 23, 2024
