Illegal BASE jumping nets 2-year ban from Zion National Park

A professional athlete has pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal BASE jumping in Zion National Park and is barred from returning for two years, according to a release from the park.

Also according to the release:

Park rangers got a tip March 28 that three people were planning to BASE jump from either the Great White Throne or Cable Mountain. Rangers went to both spots and saw one person jump from the Great White Throne.

The jumper landed in the area below Angels Landing, a known California condor nesting area. Rangers identified the jumper as Marshall Miller, a professional BASE jumper from Salt Lake City.

BASE stands for building, antenna, span and earth. It’s a recreational sport in which athletes jump from a fixed object and use a parachute to descend safely to the ground.

Miller initially evaded the rangers but was caught later that night. He also was identified as a person of interest in a similar case from January 2018, the release said.

Miller pleaded guilty to both incidents, and the court ordered a $5,000 fine in addition to the ban, according to the release. Any future offenses would result in a jail sentence, the court said.

He was also charged with violating a climbing closure of the Great White Throne, which has been closed to the public since March 1 to protect nesting peregrine falcons, the release said.

“BASE Jumping near nesting falcons and condors increases the chances of these parents being displaced or flushed from their nest or roost site which will increase the nest’s vulnerability to predators and could potentially result in nest failure,” Zion National Park biologist Janice Stroud-Settles said in a statement.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.