Man pleads guilty to ‘killing spree’ of protected eagles, other birds – Outdoor News
Missoula, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man accused of helping kill more than 3,000 birds – including eagles on a Montana Indian reservation – then illegally selling their carcasses and feathers, intends to plead guilty to illegal wildlife trafficking and other criminal charges, court documents show.
Federal prosecutors say Travis John Branson and others killed about 3,600 birds during a years-long “killing spree” on the Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere. Feathers and other parts of eagles and other birds are highly prized among many Native American tribes for use in ceremonies and during powwows.
Branson, of Cusick, Wash., will plead guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to reduced charges including conspiracy, wildlife trafficking, and two counts of unlawful trafficking of eagles, according to court documents filed in late February. The documents did not detail how many birds he will admit to killing.
A second suspect, Simon Paul of St. Ignatius, Mont., remains at large after an arrest warrant was issued when he failed to show up for an initial court appearance in early January. His attorney, Dwight Schulte, declined to comment.
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The defendants are accused of selling eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials. Illegal shootings are a leading cause of golden eagle deaths, according to a recent government study.
Immature golden eagle feathers are especially valued among tribes, and a tail set from one of the birds can sell for several hundred dollars, according to details disclosed during a separate trafficking case in South Dakota last year in which a Montana man was sentenced to three years in prison.
Branson, who was released from custody following a Jan. 8 court appearance, faces years in prison and substantial fines under the terms of the plea agreement. He also would be responsible for complete restitution of damages, including from offenses that would be dismissed under the plea deal.
GEORGIA
First Baby Right of the Season Dies after Collision with a Ship
Athens, Ga. — The first confirmed baby right whale of the year has been found dead from a collision with a ship, a devastating blow for the vanishing species.
North Atlantic right whales number less than 360 and they are vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Federal authorities were notified of a dead right whale stranded off Georgia on March 3, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Right whales, which are in decline, are slow to reproduce and every baby is vitally important to the future of the species, marine scientists have said. The baby whale is at least the third dead right whale this year.
