Matt Pruitt Bigfoot fine
Matt Pruitt Bigfoot fine, Sasquatch sleuth Matt Pruitt recently found out that binoculars and a video camera aren't the only necessities for a successful Bigfoot hunt. He was fined $525 by Arkansas state rangers (what is Bigfoot often referred to as in Arkansas?) for leading a Bigfoot expedition without the proper paperwork (what does Pruitt say about the fine on his blog?). When Bigfoot hunter Matt Pruitt led an expedition through the Arkansas woods in search of legendary woodland apes, all he bagged was a lousy government fine.
According to The Republic, The National Parks Service cited the leader of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization for not having a permit when he took 31 Sasquatch seekers to sites along Arkansas' Buffalo National River last month. Any expedition that charges a fee requires a permit from the federal government, and Pruitt had charged participants $300 to $500 apiece to participate in the hunt.
Rangers cited Pruitt for engaging in a business without a permit or written agreement, and fined him $525. Pruitt said it was an innocent mistake and that he paid his fine last week. Even with the fine, the numbers suggest he raked in between $9,000 and $15,000 in profit. [Americans More Likely than Canadians to Believe in Bigfoot]
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization hosts 20 four-day hunting expeditions each year. The BFRO's mission is "to resolve the mystery surrounding the Bigfoot phenomenon, that is, to derive conclusive documentation of the species' existence," according to its website.
The group has yet to kill or find the remains of an actual Bigfoot, but bits and pieces of "physical evidence" are obtained during most hunting expeditions, from footprints to scat to "shining eyes" seen in night camera footage.
Matt Pruitt was leading a group expedition for The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization at the Buffalo National River Park in Arkansas in February when he and his group of 31 people were stopped by two park rangers. Pruitt was slapped with a hefty $525 fine for a lack of a commercial use permit.
The organization typically charges as much as $500 to go along on searches for the mythical creature in various locations across North America. That's between the group and the gullible -- unless they're conducting their hunt on federal land.
“He was given money by people to lead them on an expedition,” Karen Bradford, chief ranger at Buffalo National River Park, told FoxNews.com. “When you complete any sort of transaction you become a concessionaire and need the proper permit.”
Pruitt conceded in a posting on his blog that he didn't do enough research on rules and regulations.
“After scouting that location and having been very impressed with the area, I decided to conduct the expedition there. I immediately scoured their website to see if I needed any specific permits or passes to conduct such an effort there,” Pruitt wrote. “I assumed that I had fully acquainted myself with the necessary information related to the usage rules and regulations of the park. I was wrong, and I paid for that mistake.”
Pruitt paid the fine online Friday according to local reports in Arkansas.
"It was a fairly innocent mistake,” Pruitt said to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “At first they were very concerned that we were filming, that we were trying to get away with commercial filming without a permit. Once those concerns were satiated, there were other concerns."
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization often films expeditions as part of the Animal Planet Series, "Finding Bigfoot." Pruitt’s expedition at Buffalo National River Park was not being filmed.
Despite being fined for lack of a permit, it would have been likely that Pruitt would not have been able to obtain one.
“It’s highly unlikely that he would have gotten a permit if he applied for one," Bradford said. "It’s not normal practice to issue them for expeditions to find Bigfoot."
Matt Pruitt was leading groups in Arkansas’ Buffalo National River last month, charging Sasquatch seekers $300 to $500 to participate in the Bigfoot expedition. Unfortunately, Pruit did not obtain the appropriate permits. The National Parks Service requires any organization leading a for-profit expedition to get a permit. They have fined Pruitt $525.
According to the report on Yahoo.com, “The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization hosts 20 four-day hunting expeditions each year. The BFRO’s mission is ‘to resolve the mystery surrounding the Bigfoot phenomenon, that is, to derive conclusive documentation of the species’ existence,’ according to its website.”
And while they didn’t find Bigfoot, don’t feel too bad for Pruitt. It’s expected that he still cleared $9,000 to $15,000 in profit. Hopefully he gives some back to Bigfoot habitat enhancement at Buffalo National River.