Current:Home > FinanceVisitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site -AssetScope
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:47:30
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal authorities are asking for the public’s help in tracking down two men seen damaging rock formations at a national recreation site in Nevada.
Officials at Lake Mead National Recreation Area said the damage happened during a recent weekend near the Redstone Dune Trail on the north side of the lake. The petrified red dunes found there make it one of the most popular hiking spots in the park.
A video shows two men shoving chunks of sandstone off the edge of an outcropping as a girl screams. Park officials called the behavior appalling, saying the damage can’t be fixed.
“It’s one of my favorite places in the park and they’re up there just destroying it. I don’t understand that,” John Haynes, public information officer at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, told television station KVVU.
Destruction like this at federally protected sites can result in felony charges that come along with potential fines and jail time, Haynes said.
Spanning 2,344 square miles (6,071 square kilometers) of mountains and desert canyons, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area just outside of Las Vegas draws around 6 million visitors every year. Officials said staffing levels mean park officials often rely on the public to also keep watch over resources within park boundaries.
Authorities said visitors can use their cellphones to capture any video or photos of suspicious activity if it’s safe to do so and to collect any information, such as a license plate, that might help to identify offenders. The National Park Service operates a tipline that receives thousands of submissions each year.
“It’s really important to let us know,” Haynes said.
There also have been others cases of vandalism on federal land across the West over the past decade, with visitors defacing petroglyphs, toppling rock features and pounding climbing bolts into centuries-old rock art.
veryGood! (93434)
Related
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Key moments surrounding the Michigan high school shooting in 2021
- Wriggling gold: Fishermen who catch baby eels for $2,000 a pound hope for many years of fishing
- Jury weighs fate of James Crumbley, mass shooter's dad, in case with national implications
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny attacked in Lithuania
- Former Phoenix jail officer is sentenced for smuggling drugs into facility
- Prosecutors: A ‘network’ of supporters helped fugitives avoid capture after Capitol riot
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Dua Lipa, Shania Twain, SZA, more to perform at sold out Glastonbury Festival 2024
Ranking
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Mike Boynton fired after seven seasons with Cowboys
- Wriggling gold: Fishermen who catch baby eels for $2,000 a pound hope for many years of fishing
- Dua Lipa, Shania Twain, SZA, more to perform at sold out Glastonbury Festival 2024
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Zayn Malik Shares Rare Insight Into Life Away From Spotlight With His Daughter Khai
- Wife of Gilgo Beach murders suspect says she's giving husband benefit of the doubt
- A new wave of 'tough-on-crime' laws aim to intimidate criminals. Experts are skeptical.
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
Interior Department will give tribal nations $120 million to fight climate-related threats
These Top-Rated Teeth Whitening Products Will Make You Smile Nonstop
Amazon to offer special deals on seasonal products with first ever Big Spring Sale
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Olivia Rodrigo concertgoers receive free contraceptives at Missouri stop amid abortion ban
Cockfighting opponents in Oklahoma worry support is growing for weakening the state's ban on the bloody sport
Most semi-automated vehicle systems fall short on safety, new test finds