Travis Larson, 49, of Homer was sentenced Monday to five years’ probation for providing big game transportation services for four black bears taken illegally in the Kenai Peninsula in May 2018.

A March 10 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska, notes that Larson has been a licensed big game transporter since 2010, providing service through his company, Alaska Premier Sportfishing LLC. Larson and APS offered paying clients transportation for multiday hunting and fishing trips aboard a 65-foot liveaboard vessel, the Venturess. Larson used a smaller motorboat for transporting clients and illegally harvested black bears to and from Venturess to the areas they would hunt, charging $3,500 per hunter to participate in a black bear hunting trip.

According to the release, court documents show that in May 2018, Larson transported eight hunters — including four Norwegian nationals who were not U.S. residents and were not accompanied by a licensed hunting guide or assistant guide as required by state law — on a multiday black bear hunt in the Nuka Bay area of the Kenai Peninsula.

On May 9, 2018, APS transported one “foreign hunter” to Surprise Bay, where the hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska. On May 10, Larson transported three foreign hunters to a beach adjacent to Beauty Bay to hunt black bears. Two of the hunters each shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the Port Graham Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, and the other hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska.

On both days, Larson transported the hunters and the illegally harvested black bears back to his vessel, the Venturess via the smaller motorboat. On May 11, 2018, Larson transported the four foreign hunters and the four illegally harvested black bears to Homer, where he “knew the black bears would be transported in interstate and foreign commerce following the hunt.”

Larson pleaded guilty on Oct. 9, 2024, to four counts of violating the Lacey Act, a U.S. law that prohibits the unlawful transportation of wildlife. At sentencing on Monday, the court also ordered Larson to pay a $40,000 fine and $2,400 in restitution and ordered him to forfeit $150,000. The court also imposed special probationary conditions prohibiting Larson from hunting anywhere in the world and providing any big game commercial services throughout his five-year probationary period.

“Despite knowing and understanding all relevant regulations governing licensed transporters, Mr. Larson chose to completely disregard the law so he could make a profit,” Michael J. Heyman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska, said in the release. “May this sentence act as a deterrent for others in the industry — we will prosecute you and seek criminal sanctions if you willfully choose to disregard the rules in place that regulate hunting and protect wildlife in Alaska.”

Doug Ault, assistant director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, also stated in the release that Larson’s sentence “underscores our unwavering commitment to enforcing wildlife laws and holding accountable those who attempt to circumvent them.”

“The facilitation of poaching and illegal transport of black bears by the defendant, along with his subsequent submission of false reports to conceal these illicit activities, poses a threat to our country’s wildlife populations,” Ault said. “We will relentlessly pursue those who engage in such activities and remain steadfast in our efforts to prevent the exploitation of America’s shared natural resources.”

The National Park Service, Investigative Services Branch and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey.