POCATELLO, Idaho — Three people were indicted Wednesday on nearly a dozen counts related to the illegal big game outfitting and guiding of mountain lions.
44-year-old Chad Michael Kulow, of Kuna, 44-year-old Andrea May Major, of Kuna, and 47-year-old LaVoy Linton Eborn, of Paris, Idaho, face charges of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, as well as other Lacey Act violations, according to U.S. Attorney in the District of Idaho, Josh Hurwit.
According to the indictment, Kulow, Major and Eborn were licensed guides in Idaho in late 2021, employed by a licensed outfitter when the trio began to book mountain lion hunting clients. They took money from the clients and guided hunts in southeast Idaho and Wyoming, where it’s not legal to hunt regardless of being licensed or a federally permitted outfitting service. These areas included the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in southeast Idaho and the Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming.
The indictment claimed 11 mountain lions were illegally killed in Idaho, and another mountain lion was killed in western Wyoming. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said several Big Game Mortality Reports were falsely sent to Idaho Fish and Game (IDGF) with false outfitter business information. At least three of the dead cougars were sent to Texas without such reports to IDGF. The other mountain lions’ bodies were shipped to or from Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Texas and North Carolina. These shipments violated the federal Lacey Act and several Idaho state laws.
The Lacey Act went into effect in the United States in 1900 to ban trafficking in illegal wildlife. In 2008, it was expanded to include coverage to plants and plant products, like paper and timber. The Lacey Act is one of the broadest and most comprehensive laws to fight against wildlife crime.
Kulow and Major were both arrested September 24, 2024, and Eborn was arrested the next day by U.S. Marshals. All three entered not guilty pleas.
A trial is set for November 18, 2024, at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
Lacey Act violations of this nature are punishable by up to five years in federal prison; a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.
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