Current:Home > FinanceVisitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site -Wealthify
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
View
Date:2025-04-14 06:49:29
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! (22)
Related
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Vice Media, once worth $5.7 billion, files for bankruptcy
- As some families learn the hard way, dementia can take a toll on financial health
- At COP27, the US Said It Will Lead Efforts to Halt Deforestation. But at Home, the Biden Administration Is Considering Massive Old Growth Logging Projects
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- At the Greater & Greener Conference, Urban Parks Officials and Advocates Talk Equity and Climate Change
- At COP27, the US Said It Will Lead Efforts to Halt Deforestation. But at Home, the Biden Administration Is Considering Massive Old Growth Logging Projects
- Germany's economy contracts, signaling a recession
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Welcome to America! Now learn to be in debt
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Inside Clean Energy: In the Year of the Electric Truck, Some Real Talk from Texas Auto Dealers
- Federal inquiry details abuses of power by Trump's CEO over Voice of America
- Texas’ Environmental Regulators Need to Get Tougher on Polluters, Group of Lawmakers Says
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Inflation stayed high last month, compounding the challenges facing the U.S. economy
- Q&A: Eliza Griswold Reflects on the Lessons of ‘Amity and Prosperity,’ Her Deep Dive Into Fracking in Southwest Pennsylvania
- Target is recalling nearly 5 million candles that can cause burns and lacerations
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
How AI could help rebuild the middle class
Inside Julia Roberts' Busy, Blissful Family World as a Mom of 3 Teenagers
OceanGate Suspends All Explorations 2 Weeks After Titanic Submersible implosion
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Fifty Years After the UN’s Stockholm Environment Conference, Leaders Struggle to Realize its Vision of ‘a Healthy Planet’
Light a Sparkler for These Stars Who Got Married on the 4th of July
As some families learn the hard way, dementia can take a toll on financial health