By Sabrina Schnur ▪
Advocacy groups and park rangers lamented Friday over another graffiti tag spotted at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Bureau of Land Management spokesman John Asselin said the graffiti was reported near Ash Creek Spring, which is outside the Scenic Loop.
“Tagging and graffiti are a regular occurrence and it’s difficult to catch people in the act (sometimes it’s more than a mile back on a trail or in more hidden areas),” Asselin wrote in a message to the Review-Journal.
Less than a mile from the parking lot, tucked between several trails, several red walls were stained with blue and yellow paint Friday.
Asselin said the newest hit is part of a continuing problem at Red Rock that keeps groups like Friends of Red Rock Canyon and save Red Rock busy with cleanup efforts.
The rocks are Red Rock are estimated to be more than 200,000 years old and were red because of the iron in soft-body sea animals. The yellow spots and stripes came from calcium in shells.
Heather Fisher, president of Save Red Rock said the rocks are irreplaceable and sometimes irreparable.
“It’s still a beautiful day to come out and hike, but when it does happen it just kind of ruins it,” she said after seeing the damage.
Fisher is working to get signs at each trailhead with the Bureau of Land Management phone number on them. There’s a $5,000 reward for anyone who helps rangers catch a vandal.
“BLM has gotten more and more rangers out here, but they can’t be everywhere all at once,” she said. “What needs to happen is if you’re going to recreate in Red Rock, you can recreate responsibly.”
The phone number to report the crimes is 702-293-8998. Rangers do not encourage residents to approach vandals for safety reasons.
