Guide, Company Plead Guilty To Violating Lacey Act

A Southwest Washington man and his guide service pled guilty to violating the Lacey Act in federal court yesterday.

According to a US Department of Justice press release, Branden Trager of Brush Prairie and Mayhem Services LLC admitted violating the Migratory Bird Treaty act during a hunting trip in January 2023 in Western Washington and then transporting birds taken during the hunt in violation of the Lacey Act.

Trager also acknowledged that he had brought hunters into British Columbia and guided waterfowl hunts in pursuit of harlequin ducks there in late 2022, despite being unable to operate as a hunting guide under Canadian laws, according to the feds.

Harlequin ducks were closed to hunting in Washington during the 2022-23 waterfowl season, but open for two a day in BC. Harlequins are a particularly noteworthy, colorful and rare sea duck prized by some hunters.

Per a federal court agreement signed by Trager, his lawyer and federal prosecutors, the parties agreed to recommend to a US District Court judge that Trager be fined $100,000 as part of his sentence. The fine would be put into the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, which is also known as the Lacey Act Reward Fund.

The agreement also calls for federal court to require Trager “make a written public statement detailing the Defendant’s contrition for his offense conduct and emphasizing the importance of hunting, guiding, and wildlife regulations” and post them on his AdventuresWithMayhemOutfitters.com website, Adventures with Mayhem Outfitters Facebook page, and CalicoCaptain Instagram account, as well as publish a public statement in a national or regional hunting or guiding magazine.

Court papers indicate Trager has no criminal history that would add points under federal sentencing guidelines.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 16, midway through the early nine-day portion of Washington’s 2025-26 duck season.

The Department of Justice says the investigation was led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, British Columbia Conservation Officer Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors and Trial Attorney Sarah Brown of DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section with help from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.