BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man who authorities said killed at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring operating on a Native American reservation in Montana was sentenced Thursday to three years and 10 months in prison and must pay more than $777,000. as compensation.

The smuggling ring had been selling eagle feathers and parts at discounted prices for more than a decade. Black market exploiting high demand among tribal members who use them at meetings and other ceremonies. In total, the defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds, prosecutors said.

The poaching operation is concentrated on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana, where researchers have found some of the highest concentrations of eagles and other raptors in the United States.

Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington pleaded guilty He was indicted on conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges in March.

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

“If you hadn’t been caught, you’d still be doing this today,” he said.

The sentence was at the upper end of federal sentencing guidelines.

Branson apologized to the court and his family before he was sentenced.

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

He declined to comment further after the hearing.

In text messages obtained by investigators and presented at the sentencing hearing, Branson wrote that birds had been killed since the 1980s.

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

Other texts described eagles being shot in Nevada and Idaho, with dozens of birds shot in a single weekend.

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

The second defendant in the case told authorities that the smuggling ring had been operating since 2009 and killed 300 to 400 birds a year. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said others were also involved.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose a “significant” prison sentence and order Branson to pay restitution of $5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 per hawk.

Branson faced up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. But his lawyer requested probation and claimed prosecutors were exaggerating the number of birds killed.

Federal Defender Andrew Nelson also objected to the compensation amount, saying it was too high for eagles and hawks should not be counted.

Branson had no prior criminal history, according to Nelson. Nelson said he lost his job as chief of maintenance for the Kalispell Tribe in Washington because of the charges, and the defendant suffered a stroke in April.

Criminal case underscores the persistence of a situation development of illegal trade The eagle was in its feathers despite the efforts of law enforcement, which cleared dozens of criminal charges in the U.S. West and Midwest over the past decade.

Bald eagles, once threatened by the pesticide DDT, have rebounded and experienced a resurgence in recent years. plenty now. Golden eagles’ recovery continues weaker and researchers have warned that the population is on the brink of decline due to shootings. poisoningsElectric shock on power lines, collisions with wind turbines and other threats.

It is illegal to buy or sell eagle feathers or other parts. The government attempted to balance the strong demand for feathers among Native Americans by providing them free of charge from the government warehouse. However, they cannot keep up with the demand and the warehouse has years of backlog.

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

Court documents quote Branson as saying in a January 2021 text that he went on a “killing spree” to obtain an eagle tail.

“It was not uncommon for Branson to receive more than nine eagles at a time,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana wrote in a court filing. “Branson not only killed the eagles, but also cut them into pieces to sell for future profit.”

The second defendant, St. Simon Paul of Ignatius, Montana released. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant in December after Paul failed to appear for an initial hearing. Court documents allege he fled to Canada.

Federally recognized tribes can apply for a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take bald or golden eagles for religious purposes. Registered tribal members can apply for feathers and other bird parts. National Eagle Repository in Colorado and in nongovernmental warehouses in Oklahoma and Arizona.

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