Colorado man banned from Yellowstone National Park after entering protected area

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Steam rising around the boardwalk leading to Canary Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, December, 2014. Image courtesy Jim Peaco/Yellowstone National Park. (Photo via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).

A Colorado man was sentenced to jail and banned from Yellowstone National Park after officials said he walked off a designated trail and entered a protected area.

According to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Wyoming, Joseph Aita, 62, of Colorado Springs, walked off the trail in a thermal area within the national park and entered a protected area of Canary Spring in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Officials said he, along with co-defendant Celia Aita and two children, entered the protected zone in the north area of the park.

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At his sentencing on Oct. 31, officials said he pleaded guilty to destroying a mineral resource and was sentenced to five years of probation, with a ban from Yellowstone National Park during that time. He was also fined $3,000.

He was also sentenced to seven days in jail and was ordered to pay $60 in mandatory court costs and fees.

Earlier this year, actor Pierce Brosnan also found himself in hot water for walking off a path into a dangerous area. The Malibu, California, resident pleaded guilty to "foot travel in a thermal area" and was fined $1,540. Of that, $500 was the fine, and $1,000 was destined for the Yellowstone Forever Geological Fund. The remaining balance was for administrative fees.

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