BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Washington state man who pleads guilty to murder at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking network who operated on a Native American reservation in Montana faces sentencing Thursday before a federal judge.

The trafficking network sold feathers and eagle parts on a black market which exploits a strong demand among tribal members who use them at powwows and other ceremonies.

The years-long poaching operation centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and up to 3,600 birds in total, prosecutors said.

Travis John Branson of Cusick, Wash. pleaded guilty in March on conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges. A second person has been charged in the case, and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said other people were also involved.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula to impose a “significant” prison term and order restitution of more than $750,000. They are asking $5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 for each hawk.

Branson faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy.

His public defender requested that his client be sentenced to probation.

The defense attorney said prosecutors overestimated the number of birds killed.

Federal defender Andrew Nelson also challenged the restitution amount, saying it was too high for the eagles and that hawks should not be considered.

Branson has no criminal history, according to Nelson. Because of the criminal charges, he lost his job as a maintenance supervisor for the Kalispell Tribe in Washington, Nelson said, and the defendant suffered a stroke in April.

The criminal case highlights the persistence of a a thriving illegal trade in eagle feathers despite law enforcement efforts over the past decade that have resulted in dozens of criminal indictments across the Western and Midwestern United States.

Bald eagles, once highly threatened by the pesticide DDT, have rebounded in recent decades and the species is now thriving. The recovery of golden eagles has been more fragile and researchers have warned that the population is on the verge of decline due to shootings, poisonings, electrocutions on power lines, collisions with wind turbines and other threats .

It is illegal to buy or sell eagle feathers or other parts. The government sought to offset the high demand for feathers among Native Americans by providing them free from a government depository. But they are unable to meet the demand and the repository is several years behind schedule.

Branson made between $180,000 and $360,000 between 2009 and 2021 by illegally selling bald eagle and golden eagle parts, according to court records.

Court documents quote Branson saying in a January 2021 text that he was going on a “killing spree” to obtain eagle tails.

“It was not uncommon for Branson to capture more than nine eagles at a time,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana wrote in a court filing. “Not only did Branson kill eagles, but he also cut them into pieces to sell for future profits.”

The second defendant, Simon Paul, of St. Ignatius, Montana, remains at liberty. A federal judge issued a warrant for Paul’s arrest in December after he failed to appear at an initial court hearing. Court documents suggest he fled to Canada.

Federally recognized tribes may apply for a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take a bald or golden eagle for religious purposes. Enrolled tribal members may request feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-governmental repositories in Oklahoma and Arizona.

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