Current:Home > ScamsVisitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site -Wealth Impact Academy
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
View
Date:2025-04-28 05:11:25
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! (878)
Related
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Loyalty above all: Removal of top Chinese officials seen as enforcing Xi’s demand for obedience
- Wisconsin wildlife officials to vote new on wolf management plan with no population goal
- Travis Kelce Reacts to Coach Andy Reid Giving Taylor Swift the Ultimate Stamp of Approval
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Trump lawyers mount new challenges to federal 2020 elections case
- Meta sued by states claiming Instagram and Facebook cause harm in children and teens
- Senate panel OKs Lew to be ambassador to Israel, and a final confirmation vote could come next week
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- 'Harry Potter' stunt double, paralyzed in on-set accident, shares story in new HBO doc
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- You'll Be Crazy in Love With the Birthday Note Beyoncé Sent to Kim Kardashian
- Maine formally requests waiver to let asylum seekers join the workforce
- Illinois man who pepper-sprayed pro-Palestinian protesters charged with hate crimes, authorities say
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Iranian teen Armita Geravand has no hope of recovery after controversial train incident, her family says
- Orlando to buy Pulse nightclub site to build memorial after emotional pleas from shooting survivors
- Richard Roundtree, star of 'Shaft,' dies at 81
Recommendation
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Our Place Flash Deal: Save $100 on the Internet-Famous Always Pans 2.0
'The Comfort of Crows' is fuel to restore spirts in dealing with ecological grief
Quakes killed thousands in Afghanistan. Critics say Taliban relief efforts fall short
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Belgian police are looking for a Palestinian man following media report he could plan an attack
U.N. warns Gaza blockade could force it to sharply cut relief operations as bombings rise
2 London police officers have been dismissed over a stop and search of a Black athlete couple