Park Service prevails against photographers in traffic dispute at site of discovery of wounded famous grizzly bear

Nature photographer Tom Mangelsen talks about his dispute with Grand Teton National Park over a traffic violation outside his home in Moose. (Mike Koshmrl/WyoFile)

From Mike Koshmrl

An extraordinary and costly defense in a minor traffic violation in Grand Teton National Park proved ineffective for Jackson Hole nature photographer Tom Mangelsen, who was found guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Wyoming.

U.S. Judge Mark Carman issued a 10-page ruling in which he said the National Park Service had met its burden of proof to convict Mangelsen of “driving a vehicle so slowly that it impeded the normal flow of traffic.” Videos and witness testimony made it “clear” that the celebrated photographer went to the location where Grizzly 610 was struck and injured by a vehicle, the judge wrote.

“He drove past the location and back again at a very slow speed, causing traffic to slow behind him,” Carman wrote. “He did this with the specific goal of slowing traffic in the vicinity of Grizzly Bear #610 and the cubs.”

“Although the defendant believes his actions were justified because of his concern for the safety of the bears,” the judge added, “he did in fact impede traffic.”

In a daylong trial in early June, Jackson’s attorney, Ed Bushnell, argued that Teton Park rangers were biased against Mangelsen and exploited a “subjective” law. In the photographer’s defense, he pulled police Officer Brett Timm’s bodycam footage and played it in the federal courtroom to verify what the officer claimed to have observed.

As the recordings show, Timm was about 650 meters away from Mangelsen at the time of the violation. The officer was talking to another driver on a bulge at the side of the road and was looking in another direction.

“It is impossible that Mr. Timm could have seen the four cars behind Mr. Mangelsen at the time he claimed,” Bushnell said during the trial. “That simply cannot have happened.”

Reviewing the body camera footage, Carman saw evidence supporting Timm’s claim that he saw Mangelsen significantly reduce his speed while four vehicles drove behind him.

“During this portion of the video, you can see from Ranger Timm’s reflection on the side of the vehicle that he is looking around a lot, but the camera does not reflect his movements,” his ruling states. “This supports the Ranger’s testimony that he observed the defendant’s driving behavior while he was conversing with other drivers.”

Mangelsen, owner of the Images of Nature Gallery in Jackson, estimates he spent about $20,000 on the defense in the case.

Carman scheduled Mangelsen’s sentencing for June 27.

Mangelsen told WyoFile on Wednesday that he would appeal after the verdict was announced.

“I did exactly the right thing that a person with common sense and common sense would do under those circumstances,” said the 78-year-old photographer. “They weren’t there to take care of the bears. They were there to get me. That’s the only thing they can think of.”

Update: This story has been updated to include Tom Mangelsen’s appeal plans. — Ed.

This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent, nonprofit news organization focused on people, places and politics in Wyoming.