§2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Among 798 people sentenced under guideline §2Q2.1 (fish, wildlife, and plants) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 448 (56%) received probation only and 257 (32%) received prison. The median prison term was 6 months.
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In brief: Among 798 people sentenced under guideline §2Q2.1 (fish, wildlife, and plants) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 448 (56%) received probation only and 257 (32%) received prison. The median prison term was 6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 798 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.
Most Sentences Were Probation Only
Guideline §2Q2.1 is titled "Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The Sentencing Commission classifies all 798 people in this group as Environmental cases.
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 448 people (56%). Prison was ordered for 257 (32%). Probation only was more common here than prison.
Length of Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 257 people sent to prison was 6 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less.
Terms are those imposed, not time served. The 6-month median is the middle prison term, and the 2-month and 12-month figures show how wide the spread was. Probation-only sentences and prison sentences are counted separately, so the median describes only the 257 people who went to prison.
Fines and Restitution
Fines were more common here than prison. A fine was ordered for 419 people (53%), and restitution for 243 (30%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 215 (27%), with a median term of 24 months.
Pleas and Trials
Nearly everyone pleaded guilty: 786 of 798 (98%). Only 12 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% did not.
The median prison term was 6 months after a guilty plea and 27 months after a trial. Only 5 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so the trial median is based on a very small group.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 796 cases with range information, 398 (50%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 185 (23%) were below it at the government's request, and 210 (26%) were below it without such a request. Sentences above the range numbered 3.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 people. In criminal history, 86% were in the lowest category.
Year-by-Year Changes
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 350 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 6 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 448 people were sentenced and the median was also 6 months.
By year, the median ranged from 4.4 months in 2025 to 10 months in 2016 and 2023. The number sentenced each year ranged from 57 to 121. The share who pleaded guilty was 93% or higher in every year, and in several years it was 100%. The records do not show the kind of conduct behind each year's cases.
| 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% |
What Cannot Be Told From This Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals do not.
The crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post gives federal numbers alone.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q2.1 (798), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.