In brief: Tribe member sentenced for killing eagles
A Coeur d’Alene tribal member was sentenced to three years probation and 300 hours of community service this week for killing eagles and other protected birds, a violation of federal wildlife laws.
Adrian Q. Brown-Sonder, of Plummer, Idaho, was also ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution and forfeit his hunting permits and licenses after pleading guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court. He’s banned from hunting or having weapons during his probation.
Brown-Sonder, 24, was arrested after an investigation involving tribal police, the FBI and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A confidential informant told authorities that Brown-Sonder had killed eagles and hawks, and several other witnesses backed that up, according to a news release from the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office. A search of his residence turned up feathers and other parts from those birds, including parts of two bald eagles and two golden eagles, which are covered under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Under federal law, tribal members are allowed to possess eagle feathers and other parts, but in most cases are not allowed to kill the birds. They can obtain them from a federal repository.
Evergreen state first stop for Chinese leader
SEATTLE – Washington state will be the first stop for Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to the United States next week.
Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday he invited Xi to Washington state in recognition of the area’s strong economic, academic and cultural ties to China.
Xi will be in Seattle from Tuesday to Sept. 24. He and his delegation are scheduled to visit locations throughout the area, including Everett’s Paine Field, Microsoft’s main Redmond campus and Lincoln High School in Tacoma.
The Chinese president will then travel to Washington, D.C., for talks with President Barack Obama.
Former Washington governors Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire will head up a 30-person welcoming committee for the Chinese delegation that includes several high-profile leaders from the Boeing Co., Microsoft, Starbucks, the University of Washington, Alaska Airlines, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.
Climber’s body identified
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. – Officials with the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office have identified the climber who suffered a fatal fall in Mount Rainier National Park over the weekend.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported the climber was 62-year-old Timothy Hagan of Bellevue.
Park spokeswoman Fawn Bauer said Hagan fell Sunday while descending one of two summits of Sluiskin Mountain, a 7,026-foot peak in the northern part of the park. People with him at the time hiked more than 13 miles to report the accident.