Washington man convicted of trespassing in Yellowstone National Park

A Washington man was sentenced to seven days in jail for thermal trespass at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

Viktor Pyshniuk, 21, of Lynwood, was also sentenced to two years of unsupervised release and is banned from the YNP for two years.

Court documents indicate Pyshniuk was cited by YNP law enforcement as he exited the Steamboat Geyser boardwalk.

Pyshniuk will also be ordered to pay a fine of $1,500, a mandatory court processing fee of $30 and a special assessment of $20.

Yellowstone National Park sent the following:

Viktor Pyshniuk, 21, of Lynwood, Washington, was sentenced to seven days in jail for thermal trespass at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Additionally, he was placed on unsupervised release for two years and received a two-year ban from the YNP for violating the lockdown. The court also ordered Pyshniuk to pay a $1,500 fine, a mandatory $30 court processing fee and a $20 special assessment.

According to court documents, a YNP law enforcement officer was dispatched to the Steamboat Geyser thermal area by an on-duty park employee who reported a person coming off the boardwalk at that location. The employee had taken a photo of the defendant who had clearly climbed over the fence and was walking up the hillside within 15 to 20 feet of the Steamboat Geyser steam vent. When contacted, Pyshniuk told the officer he left the boardwalk to take photos. When speaking with Pyshniuk, the officer showed him the signs posted throughout the area indicating that it is illegal to leave the boardwalk and explained to him that walking in a thermal area is very dangerous due to the possible weakness of the layer of soil, geothermal characteristics of mud pots, heated steam. and water, and all other dangers associated with walking in a heated and unpredictable geothermal area.

Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick imposed the sentence June 4. During sentencing, she explained to the defendant that the sentence was intended to deter him, in particular, but also the public, from leaving the promenade in this area. She expressed concern that the defendant's actions were being seen by the people around him, and that they might have thought it was acceptable to do the same thing. And if every visitor to YNP disobeyed the rules, the park would be destroyed and no one would be able to enjoy it.

“Trespassing into the closed thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park is dangerous and harms natural resources,” said Acting United States Attorney Eric Heimann. “In cases like this where we have strong evidence demonstrating that a person deliberately ignored signs and entered a closed spa area, federal prosecutors will seek significant sanctions, including prison time.”

Steamboat Geyser is an important feature of the YNP and the tallest active geyser in the world, but it is also the most dangerous. It has erratic and unpredictable eruptions that can reach heights ranging from six to 300 feet. Over the past four years, intervals between eruptions ranged from three to 89 days according to the YNP website: Judge Hambrick also explained that the three-foot fence around the boardwalk is a clear sign that the area is closed and prohibited access.

This case was investigated by Yellowstone National Park Law Enforcement Officers and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ariel Calmes.

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