Posted by Paul Martin on November 20, 2012 at 1:56 AM
Its outside our region, but hearing about the desecration and theft of priceless rock art obviously hits home with those of us who venture into the SW and are awed by similar rock art. It brings up a useful topic -- protecting the sites that we photograph by not disclosing details of the location (much less GPS coordinates). The article is here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-petroglyphs-theft-20121119,0,6886011.story
Posted by Phillip Noll on November 20, 2012 at 9:41 AM
Disgusting! I hope these losers get caught!
Posted by Monika Chace on November 20, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Posted by Craig Myers on November 20, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Over years of travel, my personal observation is that any lands assigned to the BLM are so loosely managed that the M in BLM is a joke. Certainly protection is not a high priority in their management style. Not excusing the imbeciles who desecrated the site, but it comes a no shock that it happened on BLM land.
So the 245 million BLM acres are loosely managed? I interact regularly with BLM folks and they're as passionate about the land as anyone I know - they just happen to work for an underfunded agency with many conflicting priorities. I met some BLM guys at a petroglyph site in Wyo. that had previously been defiled and they've implemented some great preventative stewardship measures. These thieves are a'holes stealing from the rest of us. End of story.
Posted by Angela Classen on November 20, 2012 at 3:03 PM
I read this story in our local paper today and it made me sick. Morons, idiots, a**holes, whatever you want to call them - it's horrible and I hope they are caught and punished severely.
Posted by Craig Myers on November 20, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Dave,
I apologize for popping off without better input than my private observations. I know it's wrong to make such broad statements from such a narrow data set, plus it ignores the criminality of the act itself. It is too bad that the California folks didn't have the foresight to implement the same measures of preventative stewardship, based upon the experience of their colleagues in Wyoming.
Posted by Morris McClung on November 20, 2012 at 6:35 PM
Unconscionable!
Posted by John Mumaw on November 20, 2012 at 6:39 PM
"These thieves are a'holes stealing from the rest of us. End of story."
Hear, hear!
Like their law enforcement counterparts, BLM rangers cannot possibly be present everytime a criminal acts.
Posted by Ken Henke on November 20, 2012 at 8:56 PM
Ya hit a touchy spot on this discussion. Many many folks want smaller government. The BLM has had a lean mean workforce for some time. It will not get better any time soon. No doubt they are quite aware of the limitations of their management due to the lack of resources. So, when there is talk about smaller government in this country, it's across the board. So, how is smaller government working for ya now?
Posted by Bret Edge on November 21, 2012 at 1:07 AM
I'm good friends with a couple BLM law enforcement rangers and I know several more. I can attest that these folks are hard working individuals who care deeply for the land and resources they are sworn to protect. However, they are assigned to patrol such ridiculously massive areas that there is NO way they can be effective. For example, in Moab, the two rangers here are supposed to patrol and protect 2.2 million acres. Oh, and one of those rangers is a supervisor who spends at least half his time in the office. Let that sink in for a moment.
As for the petroglyph thieves, they truly are a**holes. I hope they are caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law. I know of at least one petroglyph, of the Moab Man, that is chipped into a piece of sandstone that protrudes out from the rest of the wall. It's not particularly easy to get to and not all that well known, but there are marks on the side where it is obvious that someone (or more than one someone) has attempted to remove the whole damn thing from the rock. It's shameful.
Posted by Pam Colander on November 21, 2012 at 2:41 AM
No words.........
Posted by Don Grall on November 21, 2012 at 11:00 AM
With the equipment needed to do this, they must have been pros working either for themselves or for someone with the money to fund the removal and sale. This required power saws, portable generators the size they use for highway construction, scaffolding or a pneumatic lift, an engine block style crane to lift it off and place it onto a large truck, and the knowledge of how to remove it without destroying it. It wouldn't surprise me if they were dressed like government workers to allay suspicion if someone happened by, since this must have taken a few hours to accomplish. Just sickening....
Posted by Bob Falcone on December 2, 2012 at 5:07 PM
Off with their hands! (and I'm only so very, very slightly kidding).
Seriously, the selfishness I see in society these days where what ever someone is doing has to be more important than whatever someone else is doing breeds these kinds of crimes. There is very little that could be done to this miscreants that I would think was too harsh.
Discussion
13 repliesI apologize for popping off without better input than my private observations. I know it's wrong to make such broad statements from such a narrow data set, plus it ignores the criminality of the act itself. It is too bad that the California folks didn't have the foresight to implement the same measures of preventative stewardship, based upon the experience of their colleagues in Wyoming.
Like their law enforcement counterparts, BLM rangers cannot possibly be present everytime a criminal acts.
As for the petroglyph thieves, they truly are a**holes. I hope they are caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law. I know of at least one petroglyph, of the Moab Man, that is chipped into a piece of sandstone that protrudes out from the rest of the wall. It's not particularly easy to get to and not all that well known, but there are marks on the side where it is obvious that someone (or more than one someone) has attempted to remove the whole damn thing from the rock. It's shameful.
Seriously, the selfishness I see in society these days where what ever someone is doing has to be more important than whatever someone else is doing breeds these kinds of crimes. There is very little that could be done to this miscreants that I would think was too harsh.