A tourist accused of buzzing an osprey nest with a drone in Yellowstone National Park could face stiff penalties, including six months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.
Flying drones is illegal in Yellowstone, as is harassing wildlife.
A California resident who frequently visits the park told Cowboy State Daily that he caught the drone pilot in the act last Thursday and reported his antics to the National Park Service (NPS).
The Park Service confirmed to Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that the tourist was found and ticketed.
Vince Botkin said he had a brief confrontation with the drone pilot, a man who has not yet been publicly identified, as well as a woman who might have been the man’s wife or a relative.
He also said that park rangers visited his campsite that evening, thanking Botkin for reporting the incident and to let him know they’d caught the suspect that day.
NPS spokeswoman Linda Veress in an email message to Cowboy State Daily confirmed that a citation has been issued.
“We can confirm that an individual was cited in Lamar Valley the evening of June 5 for flying a drone in the vicinity of an osprey nest. We do not have a name and hometown to share,” she stated.
Flying a drone in the park is a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine, she added.
Flagrant Violation
Botkin said he has been visiting Yellowstone for years and has seen his share of people being disrespectful or stupid around wildlife.
“You’ve got all of these tourons going in there and taking pictures right next to a bear with their cellphones,” he said, referring to the nickname locals and others give tourists they consider morons.
He said he was still shocked by the incident with the drone, which happened at a turnout parking area near a construction zone at the entrance to the Lamar Valley.
Botkin said he and several other people had stopped there to admire a nearby osprey nest, with a pair of the raptors apparently trying to “tidy it up.”
“The next thing you know, you see both of the osprey look up and then take off in a panic,” he said.
At first he didn’t understand what had spooked the birds, but then he saw that a drone was buzzing their nest.
“That’s the most flagrant violation I have ever seen,” he said.
‘Get That Drone Out Of The Sky!’
Botkin said he’s not shy about calling out stupid human tricks around wildlife, he’s done it numerous times before.
So, he didn’t hesitate when he saw the osprey being harassed.
“I yelled. ‘Whoever’s got that drone up there, get it out of the sky now!’” he said.
When he noticed a man holding the remote control and apparently piloting the drone, Botkin approached him and asked if he knew that flying drones in Yellowstone is illegal.
“He said he didn’t know, and that I should go mind my own business,” Botkin said.
He added that he was also confronted and told to leave by the woman and took photos of both of them.
Drone Vs. Cowboy Hat
Botkin said the drone pilot wasn’t through with him.
He said the man landed the drone on the hood of his vehicle but soon re-launched it.
“He hovered it right above my head, like he was trying to intimidate me,” Botkin said.
Not to be messed with, Botkin removed his cowboy hat.
“I launched my hat at the drone,” he said.
The hat missed, but the pilot apparently got the message and landed it again, he said.
Although he’s from southern California, Botkin said he lives in a rural area, so his cowboy hat suits him well.
“I don’t look like a typical Californian. I’m not a city boy, I’m almost always wearing my cowboy hat,” he said.
He added that the man’s vehicle had California license plates, but he doesn’t know if the man is actually from there or was driving a rental vehicle.
Osprey Seem Fine
Botkin said there wasn’t cell service at the site of the confrontation, so he drove until he had service and called the incident in.
He said it was extremely gratifying when the rangers later visited to report that they’d nabbed the alleged perpetrator.
He also said it was humorous telling them about throwing his hat at the drone.
“The ranger started laughing and said they told a completely different story, that I threw the hat at them,” he said.
Apparently, the ranger believed Botkin’s account of events.
He said he wasn’t certain whether the pair of osprey had eggs in their nest because he couldn’t see inside the nest from his vantage point.
The raptors seem no worse for wear after being buzzed, he added.
“I went to check on them the next day, and they seemed fine,” Botkin said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
