Current:Home > FinanceVisitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site -GlobalInvest
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
View
Date:2025-04-15 06:56:24
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! (81)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- China's defense minister defends intercepting U.S. destroyer in Taiwan Strait
- Breaking This Met Gala Rule Means Celebs Won’t Get Invited Back
- Get a $39 Deal on $118 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Skincare Products
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Costume Designers Reveal the Wardrobe's Hidden Easter Eggs
- Hunger Games' Alexander Ludwig Welcomes Baby With Wife Lauren
- Tori Spelling Recalls Throwing Up on Past Date With Eddie Cibrian Before He Married LeAnn Rimes
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Missing resident from Davenport, Iowa, building collapse found dead, officials confirm
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- 27 Ways Hot Weather Can Kill You — A Dire Warning for a Warming Planet
- California Fires: Record Hot Summer, Wet Winter Created Explosive Mix
- 10 Senators Call for Investigation into EPA Pushing Scientists Off Advisory Boards
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- California Makes Green Housing Affordable
- Score $131 Worth of Philosophy Perfume and Skincare Products for Just $62
- New York counties gear up to fight a polio outbreak among the unvaccinated
Recommendation
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
George T. Piercy
Cleanse, Hydrate, and Exfoliate Your Skin With a $40 Deal on $107 Worth of First Aid Beauty Products
What's behind the FDA's controversial strategy for evaluating new COVID boosters
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
How Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Celebrated Their 27th Anniversary
Europe’s Hot, Fiery Summer Linked to Global Warming, Study Shows
Pfizer asks FDA to greenlight new omicron booster shots, which could arrive this fall