§2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 80 people were sentenced in federal court under §2Q2.1, "Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants," as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 6 months, compared with 18 months for all federal cases that year. Of the 80, 23 (29%) received prison, and 43 (54%) rece
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In brief: In fiscal year 2020, 80 people were sentenced in federal court under §2Q2.1, "Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants," as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 6 months, compared with 18 months for all federal cases that year. Of the 80, 23 (29%) received prison, and 43 (54%) received probation only.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 80 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2020
The median prison term for the 23 people sent to prison was 6 months. A quarter received 11.5 months or more, and a quarter received 2.4 months or less.
For everyone sentenced in federal court in 2020 under every guideline, the median prison term was 18 months. The median under this guideline was lower than that. It was also the same as the median of 6 months across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
After prison, 22 people (28%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median supervised release term was 18 months.
Probation Only for 43 People
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 43 of the 80 (54%). Across all years 2016 to 2025, 32% of the 798 people under this guideline were sent to prison, so 2020 had a slightly lower share, at 29%.
A fine was ordered for 48 people (60%), and restitution for 31 (39%). The Commission counts these orders separately, so the sheet does not show how many people had both.
One Mandatory Minimum and One Trial
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 80 people (1%). Also, 79 of 80 (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were 98% for all guidelines in 2020.
Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement. The records give no separate prison term for the one trial, so no trial comparison is made.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Within the advisory range: 40% (32). Below the range at the government's request: 30% (24). Below the range without a government request: 30% (24). Above the range: 0% (0).
The share within the range was lower than the 50% for all federal cases in 2020. It was also lower than the 49% for this guideline in 2019 and 49% in 2021.
Criminal History and Offense Type
In criminal history, 88% of the group was in the lowest category, category I, and 1% was in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Commission lists the offense type for all 80 cases as Environmental. That is the Commission's category, not a description of any one kind of case.
The Years Around 2020
In 2019, there were 82 people under the guideline, with a median prison term of 5.5 months. In 2021, there were 73 people, with a median of 6 months. The table lists every year.
The records cannot show why 2020 differed from other years in any measure, and a count of 80 people is small. The data covers only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 84 | 10 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 63 | 5.9 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 121 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 82 | 5.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 80 | 6 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 73 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 69 | 7.7 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 79 | 10 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 57 | 6 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 90 | 4.4 months | 99% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q2.1 (80), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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)
- §2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.