2 women sentenced for Yellowstone National Park violations

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (KIFI/KIDK) - Federal District Court Magistrate Judge Mark L Carman sentenced 31-year-old Tara L. Davoli and 30-year-old Sarah A. Piotrowski, both of Philadelphia, for being off-trail in a thermal area.

The charges stemmed from a June 11, 2020 incident where both women were observed off the boardwalk walking in a thermal area, which resulted in damage to orange bacterial mats at Opal Pool in the Midway Geyser Basin.

Multiple witnesses observed the two walking on the feature and confronted them in an effort to get them to stop.

Davoli and Piotrowski each received a sentence of two days imprisonment and were ordered to pay a $350 fine and restitution for each in the amount of $106.92 for damages to Opal Pool.

They have been banned from Yellowstone National Park for two years and will serve two years of unsupervised release.

The amount of restitution was based on a damage assessment conducted by
the Yellowstone geologist and a thermal research crew.

"We appreciate the support of the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office in continuing to help us protect Yellowstone's resources," Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said. "The successful investigation and prosecution of these types of cases help prevent future degradation of resources committed by irresponsible visitors."

The National Park Service investigated this case.