Judge fines famous photographer $500, urges him to make nice with Grand Teton National Park

Just after Mark Carman announced Tom Mangelsen’s punishment, the federal magistrate had a heart to heart with the famous photographer, one man in his twilight years to another.

The magistrate , who found the internationally recognized wildlife photographer guilty of a minor moving violation last month, reminded the 78-year-old Moose resident that “we all have a clock running.” He praised Mangelsen’s “incredible skills and photography,” but encouraged him to use it in support of the National Park Service.

“Do so in a way that will not create conflict, but will create consensus,” Carman said in a U.S. District Court of Wyoming sentencing hearing that took place Thursday over Zoom. “You have the time to do that, you have the energies to do that, and you have the knowledge and skill set to do that.”

“That’s what I hope results from this — not bitterness over a stupid little violation notice for a minor traffic violation,” the magistrate told Mangelsen. “Please listen to me.”

Earlier in the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Calmes had requested that Mangelsen be sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation, plus fines the court found appropriate — the maximum would have been $5,000.

“This is behavior that needs to be deterred,” she said.

Carman went with something less severe: a $500 fine and no probation.

The nature of the citation — obstructing traffic — was likewise minor. But the circumstances were extraordinary. Mangelsen was cited the evening of Oct. 9 for repeatedly driving slowly in front of Grizzly 610, the well-known daughter of world-famous Grizzly 399. Grizzly 610 had just been hit by a vehicle on the highway and was lying down near-motionless, though she later fully recovered, the Jackson Hole News&Guide reported .

Mangelsen’s defense of the minor moving violation was likewise extraordinary. During an all-day trial in early June , his attorney, Ed Bushnell, spent hours examining and cross-examining witnesses and reviewing evidence like bodycam footage, cellphone videos and schematics of the scene. The photographer estimated he spent up to $20,000 on the defense, and the big effort persisted through to the sentencing hearing, which lasted for more than an hour.

Bushnell invited retired Grand Teton law enforcement officer Chris Flaherty to give remarks as a character witness for Mangelsen. The retiree testified that Mangelsen was doing what the rangers on scene that day — bear management specialist Tyler Brasington and law enforcement officer Brett Timm — should have been doing: Slowing traffic. The wounded grizzlies’ three cubs were on the loose while the incident was unfolding.

“Safety is always the priority, and not slowing down traffic was mismanaging or not managing the scene,” Flaherty said. “Bottom line is that if this scene was managed correctly, we wouldn’t be here right now having this conversation.”

But Carman, explaining Mangelsen’s sentence, said that the case was not about proper roadside grizzly management, nor about the photographer having a target on his back.

“This case is about a traffic ticket,” he said. “I was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that you did obstruct traffic. I think you did it on purpose, because you were doing it to protect the bears.”

Mangelsen is still weighing whether to appeal, he said Thursday afternoon.

As for whether the photographer intends to take Carman’s advice and work more in concert with the National Park Service, he’s not so sure.

“That’s a nice idea,” Mangelsen said. Finding common ground, however, is “pie in the sky,” he said.

Mangelsen’s convinced he’s in the right.

“My opinion is I should have never gotten the citation,” he said. “It was retaliation and revenge and retribution.”

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