Rock Art Vandal Pleads Guilty

[Iceaxe]

NPS Morning Report
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
Rock Art Vandal Pleads Guilty To ARPA Violation

An NPS concession employee came upon recent damage to a rock art panel below Glen Canyon Dam last June and reported it to a park interpretive ranger. The damage consisted of the name "TRENT" scratched into the panel. The interpretive ranger had visited and photographed the rock art, known as the Descending Sheep panel, less than an hour prior to the report, and had also observed a guided fishing trip on the beach near the panel. This information was passed on to a law enforcement ranger working at Lee's Ferry, who found the fishing guide at the boat ramp and asked if he had anyone on his trip by the name of "Trent." After the guide pointed out his passengers, the ranger asked for Trent. Trenton Gainey of North Carolina responded and admitted to scratching his name into the rock. Gainey told the ranger he did it because he thought it would be "cool." On December 9th, Gainey pled guilty to one felony violation of the Archaeological Resource Protection Act in federal magistrate's court and agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution to repair the damage he caused to the panel. He is scheduled for sentencing in the district court in Phoenix on March 14th. The investigation was conducted by NPS rangers, Glen Canyon cultural resources staff, and Investigative Service Branch investigators.

[Submitted by Kevin Cochary, Acting Chief Ranger]

[asdf]

good work concessions!

[IntrepidXJ]

Sucks about the damage, but at least they caught the guy for once!

[p40whk]

I'll have to admit, when I was in my teens and twenties I used to see peoples names scratched in the stone and always thought it was "Cool." At the time I was extremely naive and had no clue of the impact. Red River Gorge here in KY. is full of natural sandstone arches, many of them defaced like this. The more educated I got as I grew older, the more I hated seeing this kind of thing.

I think it should be mandatory for guide services to provide some kind of information or, at least, a warning regarding the law in this matter. A little education can go a long way!

[trackrunner]

good work concessions!

at least they caught the guy for once!

I think it should be mandatory for guide services to provide some kind of information or, at least, a warning regarding the law in this matter. A little education can go a long way!

I read a report on this, and I'm not sure if mandatory guide service information would have prevented this particular instance. this guy passed 3 different signs warning it's against the law and penalties of vandalism. this guy had to climb over a protective wall to the feature. this guy carved his name when a park ranger had recently been by. sometimes you can't fix stupid.

[tylerhirshfeld]

sometimes you can't fix stupid.

Amen. Glad they caught this one!

[Pathfinder]

I agree with trackrunner, but perhaps the fine will cause Trent to desist in the future.
Cheers,
pathfinder.