Outfitter Sanctioned for Illegally Guiding Clients on Montana’s Fort Belknap Reservation
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 12.30.12
A Malta-based hunting outfitter who illegally guided clients on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation has been sanctioned by the Montana Board of Outfitters.
Documents from U.S. District Court, Great Falls Division, show that Donald Bradley Lynn, 59, and his guides at Montana Breaks Outfitting took clients on the reservation in 2006 and allowed them to hunt white-tailed deer there while using licenses issued by the state.
Lynn was charged with a federal Lacey Act violation in connection with a four-point buck a client killed and transported to Mississippi. The Lacey Act combats trafficking in illegal wildlife, fish and plants. Lynn was found guilty on the misdemeanor count in 2010 after an appeal.
Non-tribal members are not allowed to hunt on the Fort Belknap Reservation without explicit permission from the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes. The investigation into the case was conducted jointly by the Fort Belknap Tribal Fish & Wildlife Department, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
U.S. Magistrate Keith Strong on July 1, 2010, fined Lynn $1,525, ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution to the tribal fish and wildlife programs, and prohibited him from outfitting or guiding on federal lands for two years.
On Dec. 6, 2012, the Montana Board of Outfitters in Helena issued a civil action in the case and placed Lynn on formal probation for three years. Lynn also was ordered to pay a $1,000 administrative fine to the board, which licenses and regulates commercial outfitters and guides across the state.
