A 58-year-old man from Flasher, North Dakota, convicted of Unlawful Taking of Bald Eagles, Unlawful Taking of Migratory Birds, and Unlawful Use of Restricted Use Pesticide has been sentenced in federal court.
David Alan Meyer was ordered to pay a total of $58,800 in restitution ($9,800 per eagle) and a $50,000 fine.
Federal court information says in March and April 2016, a joint Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency investigation revealed David Meyer, owner of Meyer Buffalo Ranch on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation had supervised the misapplication of 39,000 pounds of Rozol prairie dog bait, a restricted use pesticide, on over 5,400 acres of his property.
Over a dozen workers were interviewed and confirmed they were supposed to put the poison in the holes, but due the demand on the amount of poison that needed to be dispensed and the large land tract, workers got sloppy and the poison was not dispensed as required on the label. Because of the misapplication, the EPA emergency response team was dispatched to oversee the cleanup of the ranch land by Meyer. During the course of the investigation, six bald eagles were recovered and confirmed to have died as a result of the poison.
“The defendant put the health of workers and wildlife at risk by illegally obtaining and using a restricted-use pesticide,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of the EPA’s Denver Area Office. “This case serves as a stark reminder that restricted use pesticides must be applied by certified personnel and as intended. Those who circumvent and ignore the laws that protect public health and wildlife will be held accountable by the EPA and our law enforcement partners.”
