It’s easy for most people to avoid committing crimes while visiting Yellowstone National Park.
For anyone willing to push their luck, it’s just as easy to get caught in an act. One photo could lead to $2,000 in fines and a week in jail.
Dane Eyerly of Highland, Utah, was visiting Yellowstone with his family when he spotted someone trying to get a better selfie. The problem was that they did so by stepping onto the fragile terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs.
If that person knew they’d been caught on camera committing a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by fines or a week in jail, maybe they’d have stayed on the boardwalk.
“Don’t be this guy,” Eyerly wrote in a Thursday post, adding that he had informed Yellowstone rangers of the incident.
Cowboy State Daily was unable to reach Dane Eyerly by the time of publication.
Thermal Trespass
“Foot travel in all thermal areas and within the Yellowstone Canyon between the Upper Falls and Inspiration Point must be confined to boardwalks or trails that are maintained for such travel and are marked by official signs.”
That’s the statute according to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, Section 7.13, specifically regarding Yellowstone National Park. Violating that statute can and has been enforced as a Class B misdemeanor.
All the signs and boardwalks throughout Yellowstone are designed to ensure nobody violates that rule. It ensures they protect themselves and the delicate landscape, as one wrong step can lead to serious injury or death.
Nevertheless, many do so anyway in the pursuit of better selfies — to their detriment.
Earlier this year, Eric Bedient, 50, was sentenced to five days in jail for walking directly across Canary Spring, Mound Terrace, Palette Hot Spring, and Jupiter Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs in November 2025.
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.” He left behind several footprints that were as deep as 12 centimeters.
“Yellowstone’s thermal areas are among the most dangerous natural features in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Darin Smith in a statement. “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.”
Mammoth Hot Springs has been frequently cited as an especially fragile thermal area. Any damage may be evident for months or years after the incident, unless it’s permanent.
“Foot traffic can easily destroy very fragile carbonate terrace structures,” Jeffrey Hungerford, Yellowstone’s geologist, wrote in a report assessing the damage caused by Bedient. “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.”
Mammoth Hot Springs was the same spot where Eyerly saw the selfie seeker stepping off the boardwalk.
Crime And Punishment
In June 2024, Washington resident Viktor Pyshniuk was sentenced to seven days in jail and more than $1,500 in fines after leaving the boardwalk at Steamboat Geyser for “better photos.” A ranger found him standing within 20 feet of the geyser’s steam vent.
Pyshniuk was also placed on two years of unsupervised release and was banned from visiting Yellowstone for the same duration.
In March 2024, James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to foot travel in a thermal area. He also stepped off the boardwalk at Mammoth Hot Springs to pose for a photo standing on Palette Springs.
Brosnan agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and two years of unsupervised probation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick reduced the sentence to a $1,500 fine and no probation, citing his remorse and frequent public apologies.
“Mr. Brosnan isn’t proud of himself,” she said during his sentencing hearing. “We’ve seen his remorse. It’s genuine.”
Aaron E. Merritt wasn’t so fortunate. He served 15 days in jail after pleading guilty to thermal trespass in July 2021.
The previous summer, Merritt ran up to Old Faithful with an American flag and a raccoon skin hat. He was also banned from visiting Yellowstone as a condition of his sentence, though the duration wasn’t specified.
Despite the desire for thermal trespass sentences to deter others from doing the same, none of the recent sentences have exceeded seven days in jail and/or $2,000 in fines.
“I don't know if jail actually gets through to their heads, but the dollar bill does,” Cody resident and photographer Tara Posey told Cowboy State Daily in June 2024. “When you hit their pocketbook, it seems to register with them, and I don't think they put enough of a fine on these people for doing this stuff. The fines need to be way stiffer.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
