Visitors to a popular rock site at Lake Mead National Park are being tracked by federal authorities after seriously damaging a formation at the Nevada hiking site.
Officials say the damage occurred last weekend on the north side of the lake, where petrified red dunes make it one of the most well-trafficked areas of the park.
A video taken by a witness to the event, shows two men working hard to shove large chunks of loose rock of the edge of an outcropping.
The video was sent to the National Park Service.
A little girl, the daughter of one of the men, stands behind them, horrified, and screaming intermittently as the rocks fall.
Authorities are on the hunt for a pair of men who toppled several ancient rocks in a Nevada national park
‘Daddy, don’t fall,’ she yelps as the two men work to push bolder parts over the edge and watch them break as they smash down the side of the cliff.
Officials have called the behavior extremely damaging, noting that the ancient stones cannot be fixed.
John Haynes, a public information officer for the park, told KVVU: ‘It’s one of my favorite places in the park and they’re up there just destroying it. I don’t understand that.’
‘Why would you even do something like this? Like, why on Earth would you do this? This almost feels like a personal attack in a way,’ he added.
Destruction of this degree and quality at federally protected sites can yield felony charges that may bring with them fines and jail time.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is just outside of Las Vegas, sees about 6 million visitors each year.
Park staff cannot be physically present across the entirety of the 2,344 square mile area, which means they sometimes rely on the public to keep watch over some of the sites in the park.
‘It is 1.5 million acres. We have two big lakes, a chunk of the Colorado River. It gets pretty difficult based on our staff levels to be everywhere all at once,’ said Haynes.
The National Park Service operates a tipline that receives thousands of submissions every year.
Park staff cannot be physically present across the entirety of the 2,344 square mile area, which means they sometimes rely on the public to keep watch over some of the sites in the park
Park staff cannot be physically present across the entirety of the 2,344 square mile area, which means they sometimes rely on the public to keep watch over some of the sites in the park
The men may face fines and jail time due to their destructive behavior
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is just outside of Las Vegas, sees about 6 million visitors each year
Visitors are encouraged to use their cellphones, if it’s safe to do so, to record what they see and to collection information – like license plate numbers – that might help officers identify offenders.
‘You don’t have to engage people. Many people don’t feel safe engaging others out there, and that’s OK. It’s really important to let us know,’ said Haynes.
Years ago, two Boy Scout leaders who toppled ancient rock in Utah were charged with felonies and forced to pay restitution after their harmful shenanigans were caught on camera.