Yellowstone National Park officials impose regulations to protect the park's natural resources as well as to ensure the safety of tourists and staff.
Unfortunately, some visitors continue to violate these rules. Some get too close to wildlife and there are those who walk off boardwalks near hot springs.
One such stubborn visitor will face the consequences of not following park rules.
Park officials said in a statement released Wednesday, June 15 that they have fined a Chinese tourist $1,000 for walking off the boardwalk in the Mammoth Hot Springs thermal area and collecting water from the thermal springs on Tuesday.
The Chinese national was photographed walking on the terrace formations near Liberty Cap. A park visitor reported that the man also broke through the surrounding travertine crust, a fragile limestone formed from spring deposits.
The tourist needs to appear in the Yellowstone Justice Center Court on top of paying the fine and a court processing fee of $30 because what he did was a federal violation.
The tourist, whose name was not released, reportedly wanted the water from the hot springs for medicinal purposes, and may not be aware that he was violating park rule. Federal regulations prohibit the collection of any park resources.
The tourist told the rangers that he failed to read the safety information that he received when he entered the park. Park officials said that ignoring rules is not only potentially dangerous. It is also destructive.
"Regulations to stay on designated trails and boardwalks in thermal areas are for visitor safety and the safety of the exceptional park natural resources," Yellowstone Park officials said in a statement, adding that the natural wonders of the park may be damaged and more people can be injured or killed if visitors fail to cooperate.
Officials of the 2.2 million-acre park had to face strings of incidents over the past few months mostly because of visitors violating park regulations.
Earlier this month, a 23-year old man slipped on gravel and fell into scalding and acidic hot spring water after leaving a boardwalk in the Norris Geyser Basin. His body was not recovered. A day after his death, six people walked off-trail in the Grand Prismatic Springs area.
Park officials have also euthanized a newborn bison after Canadian tourists placed the animal into the trunk of their SUV. The bison was killed after failed attempts to reunite it with its herd because of safety concerns.
