Eagle poacher sentenced to 4 years in prison, $700,000 in restitution

Travis John Branson was indicted in December for what prosecutors call a criminal conspiracy to poach thousands of eagles and hawks from the Flathead and sell feathers on the black market.

Branson was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to pay more than $700,000 in restitution to the federal government.

Federal prosecutors said Branson played a lead role in a network that poached and trafficked hundreds of eagles each year from the Flathead since the late 1980s.

The U.S. Attorney for Montana, Jesse Laslovich, said buyers of black market eagle parts also bore responsibility for Branson’s crimes.

"If there wasn’t a demand for these feathers, claws or other parts of these birds, Mr. Branson, perhaps, would not have been so brazen in his attempts to kill as many birds as he could."

Golden and bald eagles are protected under state and federal law. Taking or transporting feathers is outlawed, except for cultural and religious use by Indigenous nations and tribal members.

Federally recognized tribes can harvest feathers — with a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — from eagles who die naturally on their lands. They can also request parts from the Service’s National Eagle Repository in Colorado. However, wait times for parts from the repository often stretch months, even years.

A study released last year by the U.S. Geological Survey found that illegal shooting is a leading cause of death for eagles in the western U.S.

Laslovich said federal authorities would continue to investigate those involved in Branson’s network.