A famous local hunting personality whose television shows appeared in many North Country homes pled guilty Tuesday to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by guiding waterfowl hunts over baited ponds for profit on two separate occasions in October 2015.

William “Bill” Saiff, III, 53, of Henderson, pled guilty in federal court in Syracuse, according to United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Honora Gordon, special agent in charge for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, and Joe Schneider, director of law enforcement for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The defendant is a professional hunting guide whose website advertises that for 18 years he “hosted the popular hunting and shooting sports program Cabin Country as seen on Public Television Stations across the country.”

Saiff is also the owner and operator of Bill Saiff Outdoors and Seaway Waterfowl Professionals.

His hunting show Cabin Country was a popular mainstay on WPBS in the North Country.

In a written plea agreement, Saiff admitted that on October 27, 2015, he guided a hunting party over a baited pond in the Town of Cape Vincent, in Jefferson County, New York. Saiff had previously installed an underwater trough at the pond to hold bait.

As part of his guilty plea today Saiff admitted that prior to the hunt he stocked the trough with corn to attract waterfowl to the pond.

Investigators found the hidden trough stocked with corn one day prior to the hunt. Before they were approached by investigators who stopped the hunt, Saiff’s hunting party shot and killed several protected waterfowl.