Actor Pierce Brosnan pleads guilty to walking in thermal area of Yellowstone National Park

On Nov. 1, actor Pierce Brosnan uploaded pictures to his Instagram account with him standing on a Yellowstone National Park thermal feature at Mammoth Hot Springs, which is pictured here. (Pat Shanks/U.S. Geological Survey)

The character James Bond may have liked his martinis “shaken, not stirred,” but one former Bond actor created quite the stir by walking in a restricted thermal area in Yellowstone National Park.

Actor Pierce Brosnan, known for playing Bond in the 007 movies in the 1990s, pleaded guilty Thursday to walking in a thermal area in Yellowstone National Park and will have to pay fines to a park nonprofit. Two citations were issued in November last year. The Livingston Enterprise reported the actor was filming at the Yellowstone Film Ranch during that time, and this trip to Yellowstone was a personal excursion.

Brosnan originally pleaded not guilty to the charges. But a sentencing document filed Thursday shows he ultimately admitted to the misdemeanor charge of foot travel in a thermal area in Yellowstone. A separate misdemeanor charge for violating closures and use limits was dismissed without prejudice by the court.

The actor will have to pay a total of $1,540, with $1,000 as “community service” to Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of the park, according to its website. The U.S. Attorney’s Office originally requested the court to fine Brosnan the $5,000 maximum fine and two years probation, Yellowstone National Park said Thursday.

On Nov. 1, Brosnan uploaded pictures to his Instagram account with him standing on a Yellowstone National Park thermal feature at Mammoth Hot Springs, according to the park. The photo has since been removed. There is signage in the area warning visitors not to get too close to the thermal features and that they must remain on the designated trail.

The Mammoth Terraces are a popular tourist attraction in the north part of the park, featuring the white and rust orange travertine terraces – made of hot springs that rise up through limestone, according to the park website.

The National Park Service warns visitors on their website and in signage around the park to stay on the designated paths near the hot springs and to exercise extreme caution. The ground in thermal areas is fragile and thin, Yellowstone Park said, and scalding water is just below the surface.

“Therefore, trespassing on thermal features is dangerous and can harm delicate natural resources within the park,” Yellowstone Park said Thursday.

The park was also created to protect these features, the park said. Yellowstone National Park is the world’s first national park established in 1872.

“Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature. Keep your children close and don’t let them run,” the park says on the National Park Service website.

The National Park Service asks people to protect themselves and the environment and to report behavior of people that might hurt themselves or others to a ranger. If you’re in the park you can dial 9-1-1.

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