Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
Of 12 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (67%) received probation only and 4 (33%) received a prison term. Across all 94 districts, 28% were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 8 of the 12 (67%).
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Environmental Offense: District of Colorado
In brief: Of 12 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (67%) received probation only and 4 (33%) received a prison term. Across all 94 districts, 28% were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 8 of the 12 (67%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Fines and Probation Were Common
A fine was ordered for 8 of the 12 people (67%), and restitution for 4 (33%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 8 people (67%).
Prison went to 4 people (33%). Across all districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Prison Terms in This Small Group
Among the 4 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 6.8 months or less. For all districts, the median was 5 months, and for all offenses in the District of Colorado it was 36 months.
A median based on 4 people is easily moved by one case. The terms are sentences imposed, not time served.
Wildlife Cases Led
"Environmental" is an offense type defined by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The most common primary guideline in Colorado was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 9 people.
Another 2 were sentenced under §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides), and 1 under §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants). The cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and the Guideline Range
All 12 people (100%) pleaded guilty, with no trials. For all districts, 98% pleaded guilty. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
The Sentencing Guidelines produce a range for each case. In Colorado, 5 sentences (42%) were within the range, and 5 (42%) were below the range at the government's request. Another 2 (17%) were below the range without that request, and none was above it (0%).
For all districts, 50% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2 people (17%), with a median term of 24 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 12).
In criminal history, 92% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 0% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Cases
The district sentenced 7 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists 5 years with cases, each with 1 to 4 people. The median is "n/a" for 2018 and 2020.
Counts this small do not show a trend, and a year with 1 person says almost nothing on its own.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 3 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 2 | 8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Data Cannot Tell
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the Commission's data. It has nothing on acquittals or dismissals.
Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are in this district and appear in the court-martial data on this site. A court-martial is heard in a military court, not here, and no record ties those installations to these 12 federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (12). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.