The "most significant" wildlife prosecution in North Dakota's history has resulted in probation and restitution for the former operators of Sheyenne Valley Lodge.

Orlan Mertz, 72, his son Ted Mertz, 42, and the corporation entered guilty pleas Friday in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, the individuals for illegally transporting wildlife and the corporation for illegally selling wildlife.

U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland sentenced each man to two years of probation, along with a two-year loss of hunting privileges in North America, and the men and the corporation will pay $90,000 in restitution. They also agreed to a lifetime ban from guiding or outfitting, and the forfeiture of two shotguns.

"It's the most significant wildlife prosecution in the state on several levels," said assistant U.S. attorney Cameron Hayden, the prosecutor.

The case involved not only the corporation and the lodge operators, but seven guides and 94 hunters from 27 states, including NorthDakota. And the $90,000 in restitution is the most in the state for a fish and game violation.

Asked by Hovland why he broke the law, Ted Mertz answered: "It came down to being able to pay for the business. Keeping clients happy was a way to pay for the business."

"I'm very, very sorry," said Orlan Mertz. "It's the biggest mistake I made in my business world and in my life, and I've been at it for 60-plus years."

"It's disturbing that it rose to this level. It steals resources from hunters in North Dakota and the nation," said Hovland.

Clients paid between $1,600 and $2,000 for three days of hunting at Sheyenne Valley Lodge in Goodrich, and most clients who traveled by air into Bismarck would leave without taking their birds, court documents said. The violations took place between October 2004 and October 2005.

Guides at the lodge took clients on hunts between October 2004 and October 2005 even after the clients had filled their waterfowl limits, officials said. Carcasses of unwanted waterfowl were tossed into pits, and tagging records were falsified at the picking station.

The investigation was spread out over a year and was a joint effort of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

"I'm pleased with the outcome. It sends a message that if you want to do business in North Dakota, you do it by the rules and the law. The laws are the same for everybody, and we expect people to obey them," said Bob Timian, NDGFD enforcement division chief.

The case is only the third wildlife case in North Dakota to involve a felony conviction, and all three involved outfitting operations, said Hayden.

Ted Mertz has since sold the lodge that he had been operating for "15 or 16 years."

Of the $90,000 in restitution, $35,000 will go to NDGFD, $10,000 to the Dakota Zoo and $45,000 to the Lacey Act reward fund, a federal program that helps investigate wildlife crimes.

Although the plea agreement called for 18 months probation, Hovland tacked on an additional six months. In sentencing, federal judges aren't bound by the terms of a plea deal between prosecutors and defendants.

The Mertzes were ordered to pay restitution instead of a fine so the money could go to designated nonprofits and not "to a big black hole in Washington, D.C.," Hovland said.

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@bismarcktribune.com.)