BILLINGS, Mont. — A Washington state man who pleaded guilty to killing at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American reservation in Montana faces sentencing Thursday before a federal judge.

The trafficking network sold eagle feathers and parts on a black market that takes advantage of the high demand among tribal members who use them in meetings and other ceremonies.

The years-long poaching operation centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The defendant and others killed at least 107 falcons and up to 3,600 birds in total, prosecutors said.

Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges. A second person has been charged in the case and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office have said other people were also involved.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula to impose a “significant” prison sentence and order restitution of more than $750,000. They ask for $5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 for each falcon.

Branson could face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge.

His public defender asked that his client be sentenced to probation.

The defense attorney said prosecutors exaggerated the number of birds killed.

Federal Defender Andrew Nelson also questioned the restitution amount, saying it was too high for the eagles and that the hawks should not be counted.

Branson has no criminal record, according to Nelson. Because of the criminal charges, he lost his job as a maintenance supervisor for the Kalispell Tribe in Washington, Nelson said, and the defendant suffered a stroke in April.

The criminal case underscores the persistence of a thriving illegal eagle feather trade despite law enforcement efforts over the past decade that generated dozens of criminal indictments across the Western and Midwestern United States.

Bald eagles, once greatly endangered by the pesticide DDT, have recovered in recent decades and the species is now thriving. The recovery of golden eagles has been more muted, and researchers have warned that the population is on the verge of decline due to shootings, poisonings, electrocutions on power lines, collisions with wind turbines and other threats.

It is illegal to buy or sell eagle feathers or other parts. The government has tried to offset the strong demand for feathers among Native Americans by providing them free of charge from a government warehouse. But they can’t keep up with demand and the repository is years behind schedule.

Branson earned between $180,000 and $360,000 between 2009 and 2021 illegally selling bald and golden eagle pieces, according to court records.

Court documents quote Branson saying in a January 2021 text that he was going on a “massacre” to obtain eagle tails.

“It was not uncommon for Branson to capture more than nine eagles at a time,” prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana wrote in a court filing. “Branson not only killed eagles, he cut them into pieces to sell for future profits.”

The second defendant, Simon Paul, of St. Ignatius, Montana, remains at large. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul in December after he failed to appear for an initial court hearing. Court documents suggest he fled to Canada.

Federally recognized tribes may apply to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permits to take a bald or golden eagle for religious purposes. Enrolled tribal members can request feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-governmental repositories in Oklahoma and Arizona.