Pair sentenced for poaching elk in park

Two Browning men have been convicted of poaching four elk in Glacier National Park near St. Mary last December.

During a July 10 court proceeding before U.S. Magistrate Keith Strong in Great Falls, Matthew Whitegrass, 20, and Benjamin Yellow Owl, 21, pleaded guilty and were sentenced on charges of violating the federal Lacey Act.

The U.S. District Attorney’s Office of Montana maintains that the following would have been proven at trial:

On the early evening of Dec. 30, a Glacier National Park ranger heard gunshots near the St. Mary Visitor Center within the boundaries of the park.

He drove to the area and saw a red truck driving off the road into a meadow. The ranger waited for the truck to emerge from the meadow and back onto the road, where he stopped the truck that was occupied by Whitegrass and Yellow Owl.

The ranger found two rifles in the truck as well as spent rifle casings.

Another ranger searched the meadow where the gunshots had been heard. Initially, he found three dead elk with gunshot wounds.

The next morning, the ranger located an additional dead elk with a gunshot wound.

The two defendants said they planned to go hunting and they shot at the elk with the intent of killing them for meat.

They were not authorized to hunt within the boundaries of the park, and were prohibited from taking wildlife from the park.

Both were sentenced to two years probation, restitution of $3,500, forfeiture of their firearms and a special assessment of $25.