Man to plead guilty in eagle ‘killing spree’ on reservation to sell feathers on black market
A Washington state man accused of helping kill thousands of birds is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to shooting eagles on a Native American reservation in Montana and selling their feathers and body parts on the black market.
The prosecution for the killing of golden and bald eagles on the Flathead Indian Reservation underscores the persistence of a thriving illegal trade in eagle feathers, despite a law enforcement crackdown in the 2010s that yielded dozens of criminal charges across the West and Midwest. The United States.
A grand jury indictment last December quotes defendant Travis John Branson as saying in a January 2021 text that he went on a “killing spree” to obtain eagle tails. According to the indictment, Branson and a second defendant, Simon Paul, killed approximately 3,600 birds, including eagles on the Flathead Reservation and elsewhere. Federal authorities have not disclosed how all the birds were killed or where else the killings took place.
Branson, of Cusick, Washington, sold two sets of golden eagle tail feathers — highly prized among many Native American tribes — to an unidentified buyer in March 2021 for $650, according to court documents.
Less than two weeks later, police stopped Branson on the preserve and found in his vehicle the feet and feathers of a golden eagle he had shot near Polson, Montana, according to documents that include a photo of the bird’s severed feet with their enormous claws. . The bird’s carcass had been “cleaned” by the second defendant, Simon Paul, and was found in a nearby field, prosecutors wrote.
Multiple phones seized by authorities during the sweep turned up photos and text messages that described “the shooting, killing and ultimately selling of bald and golden eagles in the United States,” prosecutors said.
Feathers and other parts of eagles are illegal to sell, but are widely used by Native Americans in ceremonies and during powwows.
Branson, who remained free after the indictment, reached a deal with prosecutors last month to plead guilty to four charges: conspiracy, wildlife trafficking and two counts of trafficking in federally protected bald and golden eagles.
Branson could not be reached for comment before Wednesday’s hearing in Missoula. His public defender declined comment while the case is pending.
Paul of St. Ignatius, Montana, remains at large. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul when he failed to show up for an initial court hearing in December.
The indictment details that Branson and Paul traded gold and bald eagles or their parts at least 11 times between December 2020 and Branson’s arrest by police on March 13, 2021.
But court records show the illegal activity went on for much longer. They outline a conspiracy that began in 2015 and involved other people killing eagles on the Flathead Reservation but who have not been publicly identified.
In a 2016 text message cited by prosecutors, Branson appeared to acknowledge that shipping eagles internationally was illegal, adding, “I’ll just get them for 99 cents… the price of a bullet.”
In another text exchange, Branson was negotiating the sale of eagle feathers when he allegedly wrote, “I’m not getting them for free though… hear (sic) crimes committed,” according to court documents.
He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 judgment on the most serious charge: conspiracy. Under the plea deal, attorneys for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana said they would seek to dismiss additional human trafficking charges and recommend a sentence reduction that could reduce the severity of Branson’s sentence.
The criminal case comes nearly a decade after a human trafficking investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, dubbed “Operation Dakota Flyer,” led to indictments against 35 defendants and the recovery of more than 150 eagles, 100 hawks and owls and 20 species of other protected species. birds seized by authorities or purchased in undercover purchases, federal officials said.
Federally recognized tribes can apply to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permits to take a bald or golden eagle for religious purposes, and enrolled tribal members can apply for feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and from non-governmental repositories in Oklahoma and Phoenix. There’s a years-long backlog of requests at the National Repository, and researchers say the high demand is fueling the black market for eagle parts.