Pierce Brosnan pleads guilty to hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park
Pierce Brosnan has been forced to pay over $1,500 (£1,175) after he pleaded guilty to hiking in a closed off part of Yellowstone National Park.
The ex-James Bond star was caught after posting pictures of himself at the out-of-bounds thermal springs to his Instagram page, according to court records.
A photo of Brosnan in the national park later surfaced on an Instagram account mocking Yellowstone’s “tourons” (tourist morons).
It appeared to show Brosnan in sunglasses and a wide brim hat posing on the snowy ground by the thermal area.
Brosnan, 70, admitted during a court hearing on Thursday to breaking the park’s rules and stepping off a trail near the Mammoth Terraces geothermal hot springs during a visit in November.
He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“As an environmentalist I have the utmost respect for and love of our natural world,” Brosnan said in an Instagram post.
“However, I made an impulsive mistake - one that I do not take lightly - when entering a thermal area covered in snow in Yellowstone National Park to take a photograph.
“I did not see a ‘no trespassing’ sign posted that warned of danger nor did I hike in the immediate area.
“I deeply regret my transgression and offer my heartfelt apologies to all for trespassing in this sensitive area. Yellowstone and all our National Parks are to be cared for and preserved for all to enjoy.”
The actor called in to the hearing in Mammoth, Wyoming, where Magistrate Stephanie Hambrick accepted his plea and fined him $500 and ordered to make a $1,000 donation to Yellowstone Forever - a nonprofit organisation that supports the park — by April 1.
Prosecutors had recommended a $5,000 fine and a two-year probationary sentence.
A second misdemeanour, for disregarding closure signs, was dismissed by Ms Hambrick.
Prosecutors take violations in Yellowstone seriously due to the dangers, with violations punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
While the hot springs make for beautiful photos, there are risks of burns from where acid rising from the ground can reach boiling temperatures.
Mammoth Terraces is one of the park’s hundreds of thermal features, which vary from spouting geysers to gurgling mud pots, and water soaring up to 79.4C.
Brosnan, who starred as Bond in four of the franchise’s films, had been living in the area while filming a new movie at the time of the offence.
The US Attorney’s Office for Wyoming said he was in the park on a personal visit and not for film work.
