A man has been found guilty of holding illegal dirt bike races at Grand Teton National Park, and sentenced to 18 months of probation and a hefty fine. He is also banned from the park for 18 months.
As Jackson Hole News & Guide reports, Jacob Hobbs pled guilty to property damage and operating a motor vehicle off road at a court in Wyoming. Three other charges of destruction of plants, failure to report an incident, and injury to a historic monument were dismissed.
A track measuring 1km long and roughly 2m wide was discovered in the National Park after a witness recorded a video of dirt bikes driving on the historic site of Mormon Row. The site is the location of several historic buildings, and is the location of an ongoing project to restore the native sagebrush ecosystem,
The recording also showed people taking down camping chairs and breaking down a race course. Hobbs was identified speaking into a megaphone in the middle of the course.
Social media posts
Evidence seen in court also included social media posts of the event with the hashtag #boltsbday11, with previous posts dating back at least nine years. Hobbs claimed that the tag referred to the anniversary of his motocross news business, Bolts Action.
His attorney, Noreen Hobbs, claimed that the group had believed the area was Bureau of Land Management property, no official race was held, and the group stayed for only an hour.
Hobbs was fined $9,710.96, much of which will be necessary to cover the cost of restoring the sagebrush habitat. $3,690.86 of the fine is earmarked for community restitution (to benefit the community damaged by the crime).
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