A Texas man will spend time in jail after walking on and causing “significant” damage to several thermal features in Yellowstone National Park.
Eric Bedient, 50, was sentenced to five days in jail for walking directly on several thermal features in the vicinity of Mammoth Hot Springs. Those features include Canary Spring, Mound Terrace, Palette Hot Spring, and Jupiter Terrace.
Most thermal trespass charges in Yellowstone result in fines rather than jail.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said Bedient’s sentence “reflected the extensive nature of the violation (and) the damage his footprints left behind.”
“Yellowstone’s thermal areas are among the most dangerous natural features in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Darin Smith in a Thursday statement announcing the sentence. “Mr. Bedient’s disregard for the law could have cost him his life. Prosecuting crimes like this deters others from similar conduct — and from risking becoming thermal soup.”
Tracked Down
Lori Hogan, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming, said the incident with Bedient happened on Nov. 8-9, 2025.
Bedient and another unnamed person were interviewed and cited by YNP Officer Casey Lewis.
“It was investigated by the National Park Service law enforcement and submitted to our office for prosecution,” Hogan said.
According to a report from Jeffrey Hungerford, Yellowstone’s park geologist, a trail of several “significant” footprints was found between Mound Spring and Canary Spring.
Hungerford followed their trail based on photographic evidence that proved the two men were the culprits.
“We were able to find footprints in the area where LEO (law enforcement officer) Lewis apprehended the two males,” Hungerford wrote in his report. “The two males descended a diffuse valley approximately 60 meters east of Mound Spring. We were able to find distinct footprints on the pathway to the egress point.”
Hungerford’s report says Bedient followed a game trail to reach the terraces, violating the park’s regulations requiring tourists to stay on the boardwalks in all thermal areas.
Bedient left several multidirectional footprints in very soft, unstable, and “easily broken” sediment between and around the springs.
The ground was so soft that some of his footprints had broken through the surface and sunk more than 12 centimeters into the ground.
“Foot traffic can easily destroy very fragile carbonate terrace structures,” Hungerford wrote. “Recently formed structures (less than a year old) are very fragile and unstable. They cannot withstand the weight of a human without failing or breaking.
"It may take years for hydrothermal waters to flow over and rebuild terrace structures in Mammoth.”
Hungerford evaluated the area on Nov. 12 and again Nov. 19. Bedient’s footprints were clearly visible on both days, underscoring the extensive damage he caused to the delicate thermal features.
Crime And Time
People are frequently cited and fined for thermal trespass in Yellowstone, which is considered one of the most flagrant violations of the park’s regulations designed to preserve the delicate thermal basins for future generations.
In March 2024, British actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to foot travel in a thermal area, a Class B misdemeanor. He was charged after stepping off the boardwalk at Mammoth and onto Palette Spring for a photograph, which was later posted on Instagram.
Brosnan said he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” during his court hearing and agreed to a $5,000 fine and two years of unsupervised probation. Hambrick ultimately sentenced him to pay a $1,500 fine with no probation.
In November 2022, motivational speaker and social media influencer Matt Manzari was sentenced to pay $2,000 in fines and community service payments after walking onto the microbial mats surrounding Grand Prismatic Spring.
Manzari said he understood the severity of what he had done, claiming he didn’t know that it was illegal to step off the boardwalk.
He called his decision, which he shared with the world on social media at the time, “15 seconds of my life that has ruined the last six months.”
According to Hogan, Bedient pleaded guilty during a bench trial before Hambrick. The five-day incarceration was part of a plea agreement reached during that trial.
“Misdemeanors in the park are done differently than a regular criminal case,” she said. “Oftentimes, their arraignment is also their plea agreement. It all happens in one hearing."
Both Brosnan and Manzari could have been incarcerated for thermal trespass, but Hambrick decided to issue fines instead. Her decision to sentence Bedient to five days in jail is significant.
“Judge Hambrick saw that this is not only extensive damage to the thermal features that will be there for a long time, but also just how dangerous this area was,” Hogan said. “They could have easily fallen through and been severely burned.”
Hungerford’s assessment was that Bedient was extremely fortunate not to have sustained serious injuries. Many of the places he stepped could have easily given way and sent him into a pool of scalding-hot thermal water.
Nevertheless, the damage was done. Bedient will spend less than a week in jail, but his footprints could be there for years.
“The damage caused by the footsteps noted in this report we found is significant and will remain until hydrothermal waters flow over them, which could be months to decades away,” Hungerford said. “If more people were to walk in these prohibited areas, these terrace features would cease to exist.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
