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       lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
       
       
       ARTICLE VIEW: 
       
       2 visitors captured on video destroying ancient rock formations at Lake
       Mead
       
       By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
       
       Updated: 
       
       10:22 PM EDT, Mon April 15, 2024
       
       Source: CNN
       
       Two visitors at Lake Mead National Recreation Area were captured on
       video destroying ancient rock formations and park rangers are seeking
       the public’s help in identifying the suspects.
       
       Video shows two visitors who scaled towering russet-colored rock
       formations along the park’s Redstone Dune Trail and were shoving wide
       slabs of sandstone to the ground. A young girl screams as the stone
       topples and crumbles to dust.
       
       Damage to the federally-protected formations, which were out of 140
       million-year-old sand dunes, is irreversible. Recreation area
       spokesperson John Haynes called the destruction “appalling.”
       
       “Why on earth would you do this to this area that’s so beautiful?
       It’s one of my favorite places in the park and they’re up there
       just destroying it. I don’t understand that,” Haynes told CNN
       affiliate KVVU.
       
       The video was taken the evening of April 7, according to KVVU. Park
       rangers urged anyone who was on the trail at the time or who may have
       information to .
       
       The men are suspected of vandalism, the recreation area said in a
       social media . If caught, the suspects could face federal charges, jail
       time or large fines, Haynes told KVVU.
       
       The vast recreation area covers 1.5 million acres of breathtaking
       mountain views, canyon trails and two vital reservoirs that extend
       across the Nevada and Arizona border. Water sports at the Lake Mead
       reservoir are a major draw for the park’s 6 million annual visitors,
       but extreme drought in the West has caused the lake’s in recent
       years, exposing and several sets of .
       
       Due to the park’s vast size, visitors play a large part in helping
       rangers monitor the area. Haynes encouraged visitors to take videos of
       any unusual activity and report it to park authorities.
       
       “It’s really important for you to just let us know,” Haynes said.
       
       CNN’s Stephen Watts contributed to this report.
       
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