Man who killed eagles on Indian reservation gets nearly 4 years in prison

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man accused of leading a wildlife trafficking ring on an Indian reservation that killed thousands of eagles and hawks to sell on the black market was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison.

A ring of human traffickers operated for years on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana, exploiting the high demand among tribal members for feathers and other bird parts used in powwows and sacred ceremonies.

The defendant and others killed at least 118 eagles, 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds, prosecutors said.

Young golden eagles in particular were targeted because their black-and-white feathers are in high demand among Native Americans, officials said.

The poaching operation was centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana, which researchers say has one of the highest concentrations of eagles and other birds of prey in the United States. Shoot the eagles that come to feed on them, officials say.

They also accidentally shot hawks from poles and other perches.

Travis John Branson, 49, of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges.

RELATED | Man pleads guilty to ‘killing eagle’ on reservation to sell feathers on black market

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula said during the sentencing hearing that Branson’s killing of the birds was calculated, extensive and carried out with full knowledge that he was breaking the law.

“If you hadn’t been caught, you would still be doing this,” the judge said. Christensen ordered Branson to pay $777,250 in damages—$5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 for each hawk.

The sentence was at the top of federal sentencing guidelines.

RELATED | The men are accused of killing 3,600 birds, including bald eagles and golden eagles, to sell on the black market.

Before sentencing, Branson apologized to the court and his family.

“It’s my own fault,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong.”

In text messages obtained by investigators and presented at his sentencing hearing, Branson had been writing about killing birds since the 1980s.

“So many that I can’t remember anymore lol,” Branson said in one message.

Other texts describe eagle shootings in Nevada and Idaho, as well as cases in which dozens of birds were shot in one weekend.

“This is just a small glimpse into the murder that took place,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Mona Iannelli said during the hearing.

A second defendant in the case told authorities that the trafficking ring had been operating since 2009, killing 300 to 400 birds annually.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said other people were involved.

But at Thursday’s hearing, Branson was described as the mastermind of a trafficking ring who instructed others on where and when to shoot the birds and then arranged the sale of their feathers and parts.

“His disrespect for the sanctity of these protected birds was motivated by only one thing: greed,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said after the hearing.

Laslovic added that responsibility for the killings was shared by those who bought the feathers. The prosecutor said he wanted to alert buyers that their behavior constituted a federal crime.

Prosecutors asked the judge to impose a “serious” prison term and order Branson to pay restitution.

He faced up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. His public defender asked for a suspended sentence and said prosecutors had inflated the number of birds killed.

Federal Defender Andrew Nelson also disputed the restitution amount, saying it was too high for eagles and should not count hawks.

Christensen rejected these arguments.

Branson has no prior criminal history, Nelson said. He grew up on the Flathead Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Because of the criminal charges, Nelson said he lost his job as a maintenance supervisor for the Kalispell Tribe in Washington and suffered a stroke in April.

The large number of birds killed in the case underscores the persistence of a thriving illegal trade in eagle feathers, despite law enforcement efforts over the past decade that have resulted in dozens of criminal charges in the Western and Midwestern United States.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Chairman Mike Dolson said the loss of so many birds of prey from the Flathead Reservation will be felt for years to come. Eagles are important to the reservation’s ecosystem and to the cultural and spiritual practices of tribal members, he said.

“We hope this will help put an end to illegal poaching in our homeland,” Dolson said.

Bald eagles, once under serious threat from the pesticide DDT, have bounced back in recent decades and are now abundant. Golden eagles’ recovery has been weaker, and researchers warn the population is on the verge of decline due to shootings, poisonings, electrocutions on power lines, collisions with wind turbines and other threats.

Buying or selling eagle feathers or other parts is prohibited by law. The government sought to offset the high demand for feathers among Native Americans by providing them free of charge from the government repository. But they can’t keep up with demand, and the repository has a years-long backlog.

Court records say Branson made between $180,000 and $360,000 from 2009 to 2021 by illegally selling bald eagle and golden eagle parts.

Christensen allowed Branson to remain in custody until he reported to prison. Leaving the courthouse, the accused made an obscene gesture to journalists without commenting on the situation.

He waived his right to appeal Thursday’s sentence under a plea deal that included the dismissal of additional charges.

The second defendant, Simon Paul of St. Ignatius, Montana, remains at large. In December, a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul after he failed to appear at his first court hearing. Court documents indicate he fled to Canada.

Federally recognized tribes can apply to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a permit to use a bald eagle or golden eagle for religious purposes. Enrolled tribal members can apply to receive feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-governmental repositories in Oklahoma and Arizona.