EBS STAFF
Another cautionary tale for Yellowstone visitors: stay on the beaten path. On June 4, Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick sentenced a 21-year-old man who trespassed on Yellowstone National Park’s thermal features on April 19, according to reporting by Daily Montanan.
Washington resident Viktor Pyshniuk was sentenced to seven days in jail for trespassing on thermal features at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin. A June 13 press release from Yellowstone National Park stated that Pyshniuk has been placed on two years of unsupervised release and is banned from the park for two years.
Pyshniuk will also need to pay a $1,500 fine, $30 mandatory court processing fee and $20 special assessment.
Explaining the sentence in the release, acting U.S. Attorney Eric Heimann stated, “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.”
Court documents state that a YNP law enforcement officer was dispatched to the Steamboat Geyser thermal area after an employee reported a person off the boardwalk in the area. A photo captured the defendant crossing over the fence and walking up the hillside, coming within 15 to 20 feet of Steamboat Geyser’s steam vent.
“Steamboat Geyser is a prominent feature within YNP and the world’s tallest active geyser, but it is also the most dangerous. It has erratic and unpredictable eruptions that can rise anywhere from six to 300 feet high,” the release stated.
The officer contacted Pyshniuk, who said that he left the boardwalk to take photos, to which the officer responded by noting the signs nearby. The signs stated that it is illegal to leave the boardwalk and the officer explained how dangerous the area can be due to weak ground layer,
geothermal features of mud pots, heated steam and water, and the unpredictable nature of the area.
Magistrate Judge Hambrick hopes the sentence will educate the defendant as well as any curious visitors.
“She expressed her concern that the defendant’s actions were seen by the people around him, and they might have thought it was okay to do the same thing,” the release stated. “And if every visitor to YNP disobeyed the rules, the park would be destroyed, and no one would be able to enjoy it.”
