POACHING -- A Spokane man and his twin brother have been charged with 16 crimes involved with the illegal killing of eight bull elk in what Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials describe as years of poaching activity on a Fergus County ranch.

James Stephen Page, of Garneill, Mont., and William Thomas Page, of Spokane, Wash., both 32, are accused of illegally harvesting eight bull elk over several years on the 3 Bar Ranch, which is on the west side of the Snowy Mountains, southwest of Lewistown, agency spokesman Bruce Auchly reports today.

The case involves eight felony charges. If convicted, the brothers could lose for life their hunting and fishing privileges in Montana, and possibly other states, and face thousands of dollars in fines.

“The Pages are accused of serious crimes that should concern all sportsmen and sportswomen in Montana,” said FWP Warden Shawn Briggs, one of three FWP game wardens who worked the case. “Our team worked very hard to bring these two men to justice.”

Seven of the poached bulls qualified as trophy animals, according to charging documents filed by Fergus County Attorney Kent Sipe in the Tenth Judicial District Court in Lewistown.

“FWP’s thorough investigation revealed repeated illegal conduct by the Page brothers,” Sipe said. “My office takes this conduct seriously, which is evidenced by the charges we filed.”

Here's more from a FWP release distributed today:

State law defines a trophy elk as having at least six points on one antler; a main beam length on each antler of at least 43 inches and an inside spread of at least 36 inches.

The largest bull elk allegedly poached by the Pages scored 365 by the Boone and Crockett measuring procedures.

James Page is charged with six counts of felony unlawful possession of game animal (trophy bull elk), two counts of felony tampering with evidence, one count of misdemeanor hunting without a license, and two counts of misdemeanor failure to obtain landowner permission for hunting.

William Page is charged with one count of felony unlawful possession of game animal (trophy bull elk), one count of misdemeanor unlawful possession of game animal (non-trophy bull elk), and three counts of misdemeanor purchase of resident hunting license by non-resident.

According to charging documents, the investigation conducted by Briggs, Warden Investigator Bryan Golie, and Warden Trey Gacke showed that the Pages hunted the 3 Bar Ranch in hunting district 411 without permission and without proper licenses between 2006 and 2016.