Two women have been sentenced to two nights in jail and ordered to pay fines for venturing off-boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park and causing damage at Opal Pool in the Midway Geyser Basin.
Additionally, Tara L. Davoli, 31, and Sarah A. Piotrowski, 30, both from Philadelphia, were banned from entering Yellowstone for two years as a result of the June 11 incident.
Federal District Court Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman handed down the sentences this week. Both women were observed by several witnesses as they left the boardwalk in violation of park rules. Some witnesses tried unsuccessfully to stop the women.
A Yellowstone geologist and thermal research crew determined that orange bacterial mats at Opal Pool had been damaged. Each woman was ordered to pay a $350 fine and an additional $106.92 in restitution.
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“The rules in our National Parks are there for a reason – to protect visitors and the natural beauty we all want to experience and enjoy,” U.S. Attorney Attorney Mark A. Klaassen stated in a news release issued Thursday. “Just taking a few steps off the boardwalk in a thermal area may seem harmless, but it can really damage the ecosystem and potentially put visitors in danger.”
Cam Sholly, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent, thanked the Wyoming U.S. Attorney’s Office for “continuing to help us protect Yellowstone’s resources.”
The case was investigated by the National Park Service.
Yellowstone takes such cases seriously for good reason. Thermal areas are extremely sensitive and the ground is unstable and can contain scalding water just beneath the surface.
Last September a 48-year-old tourist was severely burned after he fell into a hot spring near Old Faithful.
In 2016 a man died after he fell into a hot spring at Norris Geyser Basin, and in 2000 a man died and two other tourists were severely burned after they fell into a hot spring at Lower Geyser Basin.
–Image showing Opal Pool (top) is courtesy of the National Park Service. Other Midway Geyser Basin images are courtesy of Pete Thomas