Pierce Brosnan pleads guilty to walking off-trail in Yellowstone thermal area
Global News
U.S. National Park Service rangers accused Pierce Brosnan of walking into an out-of-bounds area at the Mammoth Hot Springs.
Actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty on Thursday to walking off the designated path and into a dangerous thermal area during a November 2023 visit to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.
Brosnan, 70, appeared at a court hearing in Mammoth, Wyo., on Thursday.
He was fined US$500 (nearly C$675) and was ordered to make a US$1,000 (about C$1,350) donation to the charity Yellowstone Forever, which helps fund the park. Brosnan has until April 1 to make the payments.
In December 2023, U.S. National Park Service rangers accused Brosnan of walking into an out-of-bounds thermal area at the Mammoth Hot Springs, near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Brosnan left the area’s boardwalk to cross onto the sensitive ground of the hot springs. He was officially charged with “foot travel in all thermal areas and w/in Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails” and “violating closures and use limits,” both of which are petty offences. The latter charge was dismissed by U.S. magistrate judge Stephanie Hambrick.
The charges could have resulted in considerable fines and up to six months of jail time.
The hot springs are some of Yellowstone’s most stunning visual features and include various high-temperature geysers, steam vents and mud pots along a mineral-encrusted hillside. The thermal activity in Yellowstone is widespread and has existed for thousands of years.
Brosnan was in the national park for a leisurely visit.
