Two Montana men indicted in illegal brown bear killing in Alaska

Two Montana men were indicted last month by a federal grand jury in Alaska on counts related to their illegal killing and transport of a brown bear on a national wildlife refuge in May 2022.

Richard McAtee, 46, and Arlon Franz, 51, were indicted by the U.S. District Court of Alaska grand jury on July 17 on one count of conspiracy and two counts of violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of unlawfully taken wildlife.

According to their indictment and a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska, the killing and transportation of the bear happened between May 9 and May 12, 2022.

One of the men – the indictment does not specify which – was hunting as a nonresident without a contract with a master guide, which is illegal in Alaska, according to the release.

They shot the brown bear in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge before the legal season had opened and on the same day he had been in a plane – all violations of state and federal laws, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment alleges McAtee and Franz salvaged the hide in the field and took it to a hunting lodge, then to Port Moller and on to Anchorage.

McAtee was arrested on Wednesday in Kalispell and made his first court appearance in a U.S. District Court of Montana courtroom. Court records show he is set to appear at an arraignment and detention hearing in Anchorage on Aug. 27.

The federal government has motioned to quash a subpoena for Franz because he has been in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and agreed to appear at an arraignment, according to court filings.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $100,000 fine if the men are convicted on all three counts.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and the U.S. Forest Service are investigating the case.

Blair Miller is a Helena-based reporter. The Daily Montanan is a nonprofit newsroom.