Woody Smith paused Monday to admire the view as he walked on Red Rock Canyon's Lost Creek trail only to see the sight that vandals had left: 2-foot-tall letters, "NHC," glaring in maroon spray paint near the top of a beige boulder.
"Oh my God," he said, gazing at the gaudy sight with his wife, Kathy, and their friend Linda Glanister. "That's terrible. There's all that beauty and some knucklehead comes along."
That "knucklehead," who marred the visit the Smiths had made from Lake Orion, Mich., to the scenic national conservation area west of Las Vegas, left other damage to the pristine rock shelter, including a name, "Pee Wee Rodo," and the words "Nevada Has Cronic."
Archaeologists think Southern Paiutes made cultural paintings, or pictographs, there centuries ago until as recently as the 1800s. One rock art panel that was vandalized contains a petroglyph, or stone etching, that depicts a figure similar to an arched window divided into six sections.
A sign posted by Bureau of Land Management officials says the vandalism was reported to law enforcement authorities Nov. 14 and is the latest tagging incident in the national conservation area in places that feature ancient American Indian art. "None of this damage is as extensive as seen here," the sign reads, asking anyone with information about the vandalism to call the BLM Law Enforcement Hotline, 702-515-5151.
On Monday, the BLM announced in a news release that the Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Conservation Lands Foundation are offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to the conviction of the suspect or suspects. Bureau officials estimate the cost of restoring the site will be $10,000.
The crime is a felony violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and carries a fine of up to $100,000 and five years in jail.
Pat Williams, spokeswoman for Friends of Red Rock Canyon, said restoring the site will be costly and time-consuming. "We're going to have to bring in a restoration expert," she said. "It's going to be labor-intensive, and we have to be extremely careful. That's our heritage."
In the BLM news release, archaeologist Mark Boatwright said the graffiti at the Lost Creek rock shelter "is the most severe damage to archaeological resources we've seen in Red Rock for several years."
For more, see http://www.lvrj.com.
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road