Wildlife Officer Airlifted After Falling 20 Feet While Removing an Illegal Tree Stand

A day in the life of a wildlife officer is anything but routine, and even the most mundane tasks can quickly turn into life-or-death situations. This is exactly what happened on March 30, when an officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Annette Schlag, fell 20 feet out of a tree in the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area. Because of the remote and rough terrain she was in, Schlag had to be airlifted out of the woods with a rescue helicopter.

Schlag had climbed the tree to dismantle and remove an illegal tree stand — something Minnesota game wardens do every spring, according to the DNR.  

“In this case we had a report that there was a permanent tree stand in the wildlife management area,” says Minnesota DNR Officer Joe Albert. “In [our] WMA’s, all deer stands must be removed at the end of the hunting day, but a lot of people leave them up all year long … It’s a regular occurrence, but things can still go wrong, which is what happened in officer Schlag’s case.”

After falling to the ground, Schlag immediately realized she was seriously injured and called dispatch for help. Local officers and firefighters responded quickly, but once they got to Schlag and provided care, they found they had a problem.

“The area where Officer Schlag fell is really rough terrain,” Albert tells Outdoor Life. “It’s extremely steep and heavily wooded and it was quickly determined that there was no way we could get her out of there on foot. So we called in the Minnesota Air Rescue Team.”

A partnership between the Minnesota State Patrol and the St. Paul Fire Department, the Minnesota Air Rescue Team helps extract victims from locations that cannot be easily reached by wheeled vehicles or on foot. The team that responded to the DNR call included St. Paul Fire Captains Brian Buxton and Frank Tate, as well as Minnesota State Trooper and helicopter pilot Lt. Crag Benz.

After reaching the wooded area via helicopter, Buxton got in a rescue basket and was lowered more than 130 feet to the forest floor. Buxton communicated with Schlag and made sure she was stable enough to be lifted. Then he secured the officer in ARES bag, a large canvas bag that functions like an enclosed gurney, and the two rescuers were winched back up into the chopper.

Officer Schlag was then flown to an ambulance parked in a nearby field, which transported her safely to the hospital. Now in recovery, she put out a statement through the Minnesota DNR.

“On behalf of my husband Ben and I, as well as our friends and family, we want to extend our most heartfelt thanks to all the incredible first responders and medical staff who assisted in the rescue and follow-up medical care,” Schlag said in her statement. “This was certainly unexpected, but we are grateful it didn’t lead to a more undesirable outcome. The outpouring of support we have received has been nothing short of incredible.” 

Schlag then went on to thank the various agencies involved in her air rescue, as well as the first responders who helped stabilize her after the fall.

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“These jobs can be dangerous,” Albert says. “But to my knowledge this is the first time we’ve had to use the air rescue at least in the last nine years. For them to respond and get Annette home safe so quickly is a truly amazing thing. I really appreciate all our partner agencies, and we have a good network that really came together. We all call upon and rely on one another in these situations, and it’s reassuring to know that when things like this happen, we have a system of good reliable agencies and good people backing each other up.”