Three people who hiked up a trail in Acadia National Park that was closed to protect nesting falcons could face up to six months behind bars, according to park officials.
The three hikers facing criminal charges are Levi Brown, 22, of South Portland; Cooper Boucher, 20, of Saco; and Jillian McLellan, 19, of Saco, according to a park spokesperson.
Each will be charged with a federal violation of a superintendent’s closure, a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine, the spokesperson, Amanda Pollock, said.
The trio hiked up Precipice Trail in Acadia — and were photographed while doing so — last month despite the trail being closed to hikers for months in order to protect nesting peregrine falcons. The birds, which are protected under state and federal law, return each spring to nesting sites in the park on the steep sides of Champlain, Penobscot and St. Sauveur mountains.
Trails that pass near those nesting sites, including Precipice Trail on Champlain Mountain, are closed from spring through late summer whenever adult falcons are raising young there. Jordan Cliffs Trail on Penobscot Mountain and Valley Cove Trail on St. Sauveur Mountain are also closed because of nesting falcons.
Human disturbance can result in adult birds abandoning their nests, increasing the risk of death to the chicks, Acadia officials have said.
