An Iowa man charged with poaching in Colorado and Iowa has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife’s (DOW) anti-poaching initiative, Operation Game Thief, is getting a financial boost from an unlikely source: a convicted poacher.

On January 6, 2004, a 53-year-old West Branch, Iowa, man was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for his part in the poaching of dozens of trophy-quality deer and elk in Colorado beginning in the early-1990s. State and federal authorities described the case as one of the largest poaching investigations in years.

The man was expected to begin serving his prison term the week of January 12. Under a plea agreement, he paid restitution of $30,000, of which half will go to Operation Game Thief. A judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Rock Island, Illinois, also imposed a hunting ban on him that is expected to remain in effect during three years of supervised probation following his prison term.

“The investigation that led to the man's conviction highlights the dedication and hard work of state and federal wildlife officers in pursuing people suspected of poaching our wildlife,” DOW investigator Glenn Smith said. “Only through teamwork were we able to track down the man and the others. Hopefully, the outcome will serve as a cautionary tale for everyone.”

The man pleaded guilty to federal poaching charges in September, including two felony violations of the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law, and one felony charge of illegal possession of a machine gun. State and federal authorities said he admitted to poaching 45 trophy-quality animals valued at $270,000. Investigators said the deer and elk were taken in Iowa and western Colorado.

His sentencing came a week after a second man from Iowa City, pleaded guilty in the case. Under a plea agreement, he will serve eight months in federal prison without parole, pay a fine, and serve one year of supervised probation. Some $7,500 of his fine will go to Operation Game Thief, Smith said.

Smith said federal prosecutors expect to proceed with their case against several other defendants next week. Waters’ prosecution was the result of a joint investigation by the DOW, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Iowa, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.