October 10, 2014
Sellers of Eagle, Hawk, and Anhinga Feathers Sentenced For
Violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty
Act and Lacey Act
This week in Phoenix, Arizona, Leo Begay, a tribal member of
the Navajo Nation from Tuba City, Arizona, became the last defendant to be
sentenced after a nationwide investigation – Operation Silent Wilderness – by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into the illegal killing and
commercialization of protected eagles and other migratory birds.
Begay was sentenced to four months in prison to be followed
by two years of supervised release and a fine of $1,000, having earlier pleaded
guilty to charges that he sold six feather fans comprised of bald and golden
eagles, and federally-protected hawks.
The investigation into the Begay case and several others was conducted
jointly with the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The investigation was initiated after the Navajo Nation
Department of Fish and Wildlife received a complaint concerning a Navajo tribal
member in Arizona who was selling eagle and other migratory bird feathers. Seven residential search warrants and
multiple interviews related to the investigation were conducted, uncovering an
illicit trade in migratory bird feathers via the Internet using online services
such as MySpace and Yahoo! Mail.
Federal and Tribal law enforcement leaders commented on the
operation.
Sam Hirsch, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the
Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division commented:
The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing wildlife
laws that forbid the commercialization and exploitation for profit of eagle
feathers and other bird parts, a valuable cultural and environmental resource
to all Americans, and not least of all American Indians. The Department of
Justice is committed to striking an appropriate balance in enforcing our
nation’s wildlife laws that also respects the cultural and religious practices
of federally recognized Indian tribes.
Ed Grace, Deputy Assistant Director for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, stated:
Operation Silent Wilderness has been a model of cooperation
between the Service and the Navajo Nation’s Department of Fish and
Wildlife. The results send a strong
message to all Americans that we will pursue traders in illegal wildlife
products with the full force of the law.
Social networking sites are no safe haven for wildlife traffickers to
conduct illegal business.
Gloria M. Tom, Director of the Navajo Nation Department of
Fish and Wildlife commented:
The Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife entered
into a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address illegal
trafficking of eagle feathers and other bird parts on the Navajo Nation because
this activity is impacting the long term viability and sustainability of the
golden eagle and other migratory bird populations on our reservation. The Department’s overall mission is to conserve
and protect our wildlife now and in the future and we take this mission very
seriously. We are obligated to protect
these sacred birds for our people who use eagles and other migratory birds and
their parts legally for religious and ceremonial purposes. The individuals who are participating in this
illegal activity are not concerned with protecting Native American religious
rights; they are only concerned with the personal financial benefit they
receive from the illegal activity. Our
partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deter wildlife crimes on
the Navajo Nation has been very beneficial to the Navajo Nation with cases like
these being successfully prosecuted. We
look forward to continuing this partnership because there is a tremendous
amount of illegal activity continuing to occur and the partnership needs to
include more efforts to catch the individuals who are killing the birds and
making their parts available on the black market.
John Leonardo, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
stated:
The preservation of protected bird species is of significant
importance to all Arizonans and all Americans, and this nationwide
collaborative investigation demonstrates our shared commitment to this
preservation goal as well as to the protection of American Indian cultural practices.
In 2012, the Department of Justice announced a policy
addressing the ability of members of federally recognized Indian tribes to
possess or use eagle feathers, an issue of great cultural significance to many
tribes and their members. Attorney General Eric Holder signed the new policy
after extensive department consultation with tribal leaders and tribal groups.
The policy covers all federally protected birds, bird feathers and bird parts.
Enrolled members of federally recognized American Indian tribes
may possess eagle and other migratory bird feathers and parts for religious and
ceremonial purposes, but federal law strictly prohibits the sale of bald and
golden eagles, their feathers, or their parts by any person. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
(BGEPA) prohibits the taking, possession, sale, barter, purchase and transport
of bald and golden eagles. The Migratory
Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) implements Conventions between the United States and
four countries (Canada, Mexico, Japan and Russia) for the protection of more
than 1,000 migratory bird species. One
such bird, the anhinga, is found in the Florida Everglades as well as in
southern swamps and shallow waters. The
Lacey Act prohibits, among other things, the sale of wildlife knowing that the
wildlife was taken or possessed in violation of any federal wildlife-related
regulation or law.
These important laws are enforced by the Department of
Justice and the Department of the Interior and help ensure that eagle and other
bird populations remain healthy and sustainable.
Previous prosecutions resulting from Operation Silent
Wilderness:
On Aug. 14, 2014, Charley Allen, a Goshute tribal member of
Grantsville, Utah was sentenced to 12 months
in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release for selling
and offering to sell migratory bird parts including anhinga and hawk feathers
in violation of the MBTA. Allen admitted
by his plea on Mar. 20, 2014 in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, that he
sold four sets of twelve anhinga feathers for $400 per set to two people in
Arizona, one of whom was an undercover officer.
Allen also admitted that he offered to sell seven sets of red-tailed,
red-shouldered and ferruginous hawk feathers.
Allen communicated via MySpace with an individual in Florida who
supplied Allen on multiple occasions with 44 sets of anhinga tail
feathers.
Steven Patrick Garcia, Jr. of San Jose, Calif., similarly
communicated with an individual in California via MySpace and sold the
individual twelve hawk feathers for $200.
Garcia was sentenced on June 6, 2013 in federal court in Billings,
Mont., to 24 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release
for selling and offering to sell migratory bird parts in violation of the MBTA
and the Lacey Act.
Alexander Robert Somers, a Yakama tribal member of White
Swan, Wash., was sentenced on Aug. 26, 2013 in federal court in Phoenix, Ariz.,
to three months in prison, one year supervised release with a condition of
three months home confinement, and $10,000 restitution for selling golden eagle
parts in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. $5,000 of the restitution is to be paid to
the Yakama Nation’s Wildlife, Range & Vegetation Resources Management Program. The remaining $5,000 is to be paid to the
Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife’s “Operation Game Thief” a
program which awards cash rewards to people who provide information which leads
to the arrest or citation of any person who unlawfully poaches wildlife on the
Navajo Nation.
The golden eagle feathers sold by Somers were purchased by
Darwin James of Kayenta, Ariz. who subsequently sold the feathers to an
undercover law enforcement officer.
James was sentenced on Oct. 21, 2013 in federal court in Phoenix to five
years probation and $6,750 restitution for selling migratory bird parts in
violation of the MBTA. James pleaded
guilty to the charge on May 6, 2013.
James admitted by his plea that on Feb. 15, 2009, he sold 12 golden
eagle tail feathers and twelve red-tailed hawk tail feathers for a total of
$650 after exchanging e-mails with a covert law enforcement officer. According to court documents, James is a
Native American residing on the Navajo Nation reservation.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Forensics Laboratory in
Ashland, Oregon, performed more than eight thousand forensic identifications
during the course of this investigation and subsequent prosecution of the cases
and concluded that a minimum number of nearly 600 individual birds were
involved. The Forensics Laboratory is
the only full service crime lab in the world dedicated to crimes against
wildlife. Scientists at the lab identify
the species of pieces, parts or products of an animal or bird seized as
evidence, determine the cause-of-death, and provide expert testimony in
court.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates the National
Eagle Repository, which collects eagles that die naturally, by accident or
other means, to supply enrolled members of federally recognized American Indian
tribes with eagle parts for religious use.
The cases which resulted from this nationwide investigation
were prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural
Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s
Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Alaska, District of
Arizona, Southern District of Florida, Eastern and Western Districts of
Louisiana, District of Montana, District of New Mexico, and the District of
Utah.
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