Opinion

It’s Time Thoughtless Photographers Stop Ruining Our National Treasures (VIDEO)

Ron Leach  |  May 18, 2016

Last week we ran a story about a careless photographer who destroyed a national monument while light painting the site with burning steel wool. And now there’s this: a careless crew of Canadians have shared images and videos of themselves trammeling on natural wonders in Yellowstone National Park and Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats where their images show them waterskiing off the back of an RV.

Their posts quickly went viral, provoking a strong public outcry. The Wyoming U.S Attorney’s Office has since filed charges against the three-man crew (who call themselves “High on Life”) for leaving a designated walkway at Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Springs. The Bureau of Land Management also said they were investigating the group’s activities at the Salt Flats to determine if any crimes were committed.

In response to the public outcry, the High on Life crewmembers apologized and announced they will donate $5000 to Yellowstone National Park. Their statement reads, in part:

“Three days ago we were lucky enough to visit Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and made the unfortunate error of leaving the pathway. We did not respect the protected environment we were exploring, and we want to acknowledge our wrongdoing. Because we have disappointed people with our actions, we have taken down the footage filmed off of the boardwalk at Yellowstone. We have realized that what we did was not okay, and we want others to learn from our mistake.”

The video below is a learning moment for all of us to get high on the beauty of our natural treasures—not the work of irresponsible photographers like the High on Life crew.

COMMENTS
Matthew Saville's picture
Submitted by Matthew Saville on May 18, 2016 - 12:00pm

"If you can you should" is plastered right on the front of their RV, and I think that says everything we need to know about the mindset of folks such as this.

Social Media is a double-edged sword. Although it is a fantastic new way to generate revenue by simply circulating sensational events, lifestyles, or ideas, it has also worsened our insatiable need for new thrills and excitement, not to mention shortened our attention spans and heightened our need for attention.

Lastly, also at fault is the current generation of parents who simply haven't brought up their children to respect property that doesn't belong to them, or even other living organisms.

"If you can you should" is exactly what will ruin our planet, on so many different levels. My only hope is that we as a society can wake up before it is too late, and gain some respect for the world around us, and maybe even realizing that it might take a slightly less exciting, more humble lifestyle for us to actually reverse course and create a future world that is beautiful and not...recklessly destroyed.

GeorgeLepp's picture
Submitted by GeorgeLepp on May 25, 2016 - 2:45pm

Karma will punish these idiots as the brine they drove through will destroy their RV. I have done projects on the Salt Flats for the Speed Week that happens there and without a very thorough washing of the under carriage it will very quickly rust away. Even then it will rust away! Knowing their smartness from these acts, their RV will rust away...and the sooner the better!

X