A plea deal pending in Anchorage’s federal court would ban two men from hunting anywhere in the world for four years as punishment for illegally hunting a bull moose in Denali National Park and Preserve.
According to documents published Tuesday, Christopher Brumwell and Andrew McDonald agreed to plead guilty to a single count each of illegally transporting wildlife that was hunted in violation of federal law.
Prosecutors said Brumwell and McDonald killed a bull moose about 900 yards within the park’s boundaries during a hunt in September 2021, then packed the moose meat and antlers to a spot outside the park in an attempt to make it seem as if the kill was legal.
A third party saw them kill the moose, and when park rangers arrived, Brumwell and McDonald lied about the location of the kill. Their GPS device showed their path and contained messages between the two, indicating their plan.
All sides have signed the plea agreement, which is awaiting approval by a magistrate judge.
In addition to agreeing that they will not hunt or seek a hunting license anywhere in the world for four years, the two men each agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to the “Denali National Park Foundation” and forfeited the weapons and some equipment used in the hunt.
Public records do not list a Denali National Park Foundation active in Alaska, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage was unable on Thursday to clarify the destination of the donation.
• James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
