Current:Home > NewsVisitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site -Prime Money Path
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:53:21
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! (66849)
Related
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Deion Sanders vows at Colorado spring game that Buffaloes will reach bowl game
- Clean up begins after tornadoes hammer parts of Iowa and Nebraska; further storms expected Saturday
- Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris Make Red Carpet Debut at 2024 White House Correspondents' Dinner
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris Make Red Carpet Debut at 2024 White House Correspondents' Dinner
- Lawsuit claims bodycam video shows officer assaulting woman who refused to show ID in her home
- 2024 Kentucky Derby post positions set: Here's where each horse landed
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Tennessee lawmakers adjourn after finalizing $1.9B tax cut and refund for businesses
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Once dominant at CBS News before a bitter departure, Dan Rather makes his first return in 18 years
- Champions League-chasing Aston Villa squanders two-goal lead in draw with Chelsea
- Woman after woman told her story, but the rape conviction didn't stand. Here's why.
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Brenden Rice, son of Jerry Rice, picked by Chargers in seventh round of NFL draft
- NFL draft picks 2024: Tracker, analysis for every pick from second and third rounds
- Kitten season is here and it's putting a strain on shelters: How you can help
Recommendation
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
MLS schedule April 27: Messi visits Foxborough, New York Red Bulls in another intriguing game
NFL draft picks 2024: Tracker, analysis for every pick from second and third rounds
Living with a criminal record: When does the sentence end? | The Excerpt
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
Retrial of Harvey Weinstein unlikely to occur soon, if ever, experts say
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized ahead of New York court appearance
Mississippi Senate agrees to a new school funding formula, sending plan to the governor