The Wyoming Board of Outfitters has scheduled a hearing for a Bondurant outfitter who allegedly admitted to killing a bald eagle after Wyoming Game and Fish Department officers found talons and feathers on his property.

Officials say Sammy L. Coutts killed the eagle with a rifle shot when he saw the bird eating trout from his fish pond around Oct. 11, 2007.

An anonymous caller reported the incident to the department’s Stop Poaching hotline, according to Game and Fish officers.

The board of outfitters hearing is set for Jan. 28 in Cheyenne. As of now, the meeting is open to the public, but officials said Coutts’ lawyer could ask to close the hearing. The board could choose to revoke Coutts’ outfitter license.

Coutts holds a permit for C-4 Outfitters, a company that offers hunting and fishing trips in Bridger-Teton National Forest in the Jackson Hole area.

The alleged poaching incident was just four months after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the bald eagle from protection under the Endangered Species Act. Bald eagles are still protected in Wyoming under state law and federally under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

At first, Coutts reportedly denied shooting the eagle but later confessed under questioning by Game and Fish officers, according to the department. Coutts was charged with taking an eagle and possession of raptor parts. Taking an eagle is considered a high misdemeanor.

In 1963, the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states dwindled to about 400 nesting pairs. Today about 10,000 nesting pairs exist in the contiguous United States. Scientists say the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem played an important role as a “source” population for bald eagles during the recovery.