A man is facing fines of up to $75,000 and a year in prison after a forbidden bath in a thermal pool in Banff.

Parks Canada employees say a man was bathing in the thermal pool on Nov. 26 at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, which is home to the endangered Banff Springs snail.

The snail is about the size of a lemon seed and only exists in a handful of thermal springs at the historic site on Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park. (CBC)

Park wardens arrested and charged the man with entering a closed area under the National Parks General Regulations and Species at Risk Act.

According to Parks Canada, the Banff Springs snail is the "most at-risk species in the park." The snail is about the size of a lemon seed and only exists in a handful of thermal springs at the historic site on Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park.

The population was measured at only 34,000 in 2005, but the population fluctuates. The snail isn't found anywhere else in the world.

The man is scheduled to appear in court in Canmore on Jan. 14.

He is charged with entering a restricted area and damaging the critical habitat of a species at risk. The first offence carries a maximum fine of $25,000 while the second one has a maximum fine of $50,000 or jail sentence of up to one year, or both.

As the matter is before the courts, Parks Canada would not comment further on the situation.