YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A visitor to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has been sentenced to seven days in jail after departing the designated trail in one of the park’s thermal areas, according to an announcement by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming.
Joseph Aita, 62, of Colorado Springs, CO, was sentenced for entering the protected area of Canary Spring, along with co-defendant Celia Aita and two minors, according to the announcement. He also pleaded guilty to destroying a mineral resource, which carries a sentence of five years of probation, a five-year ban from YNP and a fine of $3,000.
Canary Spring is a thermal feature in the Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park, close to its northern entrance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Calmes prosecuted this case, with U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick imposing the sentence on Oct. 31, in Mammoth, WY.
This is at least the third such transgression litigated in the park this year. James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan was fined in March for standing on a thermal feature in Mammoth Hot Springs. Similarly, in June, a visitor was sentenced to a week in jail for leaving the boardwalk at Steamboat Geyser.
Discussing the Steamboat incident, Acting United States Attorney Eric Heimann issued the following statement: “Trespassing in closed, thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park is dangerous and harms the natural resource. In cases like this one where we have strong evidence showing a person has willfully disregarded signs and entered a closed, thermal area, federal prosecutors will seek significant penalties, including jail time.”
Leaving the boardwalk in a thermal area also carries safety risks. In September, a woman sustained second and third-degree burns on her legs while walking off-trail in a thermal area near Old Faithful.
Following the Biscuit Basin hydrothermal explosion in July, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Michael Poland spoke to Buckrail about visitor safety in the park’s thermal areas, encouraging visitors to stay on the designated trails and boardwalks.
“These are spectacular places and you really have to be careful where you walk,” he said. “The park puts a lot of effort into putting the boardwalks in places that are not thermal ground.”
