Two Nevada men accused of damaging ancient rock formations estimated to be more than 140 million years old in the Lake Mead National Recreation have had their trial date set for October 8.
Currently, the men will face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the offenses.
The Charges
Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, have been indicted on federal charges with one count of injury and depredation of government property and one more count of aiding and abetting.
The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if found guilty in court.
The Arrest
After being arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service, the two Henderson residents made their first appearance in court on Friday.
They both pleaded innocent to the charges and were released on a personal recognisance bond (which is a promise to reappear in court).
Caught on Camera
Several videos were captured of the crime. The evidence shows Fain and Cosper pushing rock formations over a cliff around Redstone Dunes Trail at Lake Mead on April 7 of this year.
The resulting damages cost more than $1,000.
Video of the Crime
A video recording clearly shows two men standing on a red rock formation while pushing large boulders off the cliff.
Authorities say that total destruction of a protected area is new and shocking behavior that they haven’t seen before. They reached out to the public for help identifying the two men.
Priceless Rock Formations
Experts say that the famous red rock formations surrounding Lake Mead are up to 140 million years old and can never be replaced once they are destroyed.
The damage to the unique landscape is, unfortunately, pertinent and cannot be repaired.
The Lake Mead Recreation Area
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area just outside of Las Vegas is a super popular tourist spot and draws more than 6 million guests each year.
The area spans more than 2,344 square miles of mountains and desert canyons. As the area is a National Park, it is part of the United States government property, and guests are expected to behave as such while enjoying the amenities.
Park Rangers
As National Parks run on a limited staff, they rely on guests to police themselves and act with decorum.
However, there are always a few actions that can result in fines, jail time, or being banned entirely from the park if park rangers see or discover the culprits of any crime.
National Park Rules
Guests are expected to follow a number of rules when entering a national park or recreation area.
For instance, some of the rules include not getting too close to wildlife, not defacing rock formations or trees, not building rock cairns, and not littering or flying drones in protected air spaces.
Tourists Are Often Fined for Breaking Rules
Every year, there are numerous accounts of tourists acting badly in Yellowstone. Often, getting too close to bison or bears can cause a guest to be asked to leave or fined for bothering wildlife.
Despite hanging out hefty fines, park rangers often have a hard time controlling the behaviour of guests as the park does not have an adequate number of rangers to quell the problems.
Bad Behaviour Causes Destruction in Parks
The amount of destruction and damage that most national parks face is due to poor behavior by tourists and guests.
In recent months, frequent hikers and park rangers have become increasingly more dependent and upset at the level of graffiti, damage, and litter filling popular trails and protected environments.
