MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) -- Two family members have been sentenced for land management practices that violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
78-year-old Alvin Sowinski and his 46-year-old son Paul were found guilty in May of using the pesticide Carbofuran to kill wildlife on the family property. The use of the chemical killed several species of birds and mammals between May 2007 and March 2010, including a black bear, bobcat and at least two American bald eagles. A DNR warden found a bald eagle, a crow, a gray squirrel, and a bobcat all dead and within one hundred yards of a deer carcass that the warden suspected contained poison.
Alvin was sentenced to four months of home confinement followed by a year of probation. He also has to pay a $30,000 fine and $100,000 in restitution. His hunting, trapping, and fishing privileges have been revoked for 7 years.
Paul Sowinski received a $10,000 fine, a five-year ban on his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges, $100,000 in restitution, and one year of probation.
The Sowinski families have over 8,000 acres in the Sugar Camp area, with about 4,000 of them in agricultural use.