ND outfitter pleads guilty to shooting eagle decoy
ND outfitter pleads guilty to shooting eagle decoy
By DAVE KOLPACK – Sep 26, 2008
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A western North Dakota outfitter who was arrested
after shooting at a bald eagle decoy has pleaded guilty to a charge he
attempted to kill a migratory bird.
Gary Stang, 63, pleaded guilty Thursday in a deal with prosecutors to
the charge of attempting to take and kill a protected migratory bird.
He was arrested in March near his hunting excursion business, the
same day investigators with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set up the
stuffed eagle decoy as a way to lure him into shooting it.
"In his mind, when he pulled the trigger, it was a live bird," said
Rich Grosz, a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Under the plea deal, Stang was sentenced to a year of probation, a
fine of more than $1,000, and the loss of hunting privileges in North
America for one year. Stang also will give up a rifle, scope and
ammunition. The plea was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles S.
Miller in Bismarck, who also imposed the sentence.
He could have faced as much as 6 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
"We made our point," Hayden said of the plea deal. "It's not always
about getting a big fine."
Agents had been investigating Stang for four years as a suspect in
the shootings of protected birds like eagles, owls and hawks in an area
near his business. Agents wouldn't give a number on how many birds he's
suspected of killing.
Stang's attorney, Tom Dickson, said his client is under the mistaken
impression that raptors — including eagles, hawks and owls — are hurting
his business by preying on pheasants. Pheasant hunters pay Stang to set
up excursions through his outfitting company, Good Life Hunting Company
Bed and Breakfast. But those raptors are protected under a migratory
bird treaty.
"Some of our older farmers have an irrational attitude toward birds
of prey," Dickson said. "This would be one of those situations."
Grosz said Stang was a suspect for several years, after investigators
started "putting pins on the map" when looking into reports of dead
raptors. The dead birds were being found in the area where Stang was
known to hunt.
In 2004, undercover agents set up hunting trips with Stang, who owns
the Good Life Hunting Company Bed and Breakfast in Hettinger County, and
another outfitter, Warren Anderson, of Bowman.
Anderson eventually was arrested and pleaded guilty to federal
charges. He was ordered to pay $60,000 in fines and restitution.
"Mr. Stang was put on a back burner, but we took another look last
spring," Grosz said.
Investigators found a large bald eagle mount in the federal
repository that was about to be destroyed and decided instead to put it
to use.
The decoy was placed in a public area in March where Stang was known
to patrol for raptors. Agents staking out the area saw Stang shoot it.
Grosz said it's the first time he has used a bald eagle decoy to
catch a suspect.
"It's an alternative approach, but we had to prove this case beyond a
reasonable doubt," he said. "Killing one of these birds is an
unacceptable thing."
