Defacing Federal Land by Carving Names in Rocks
Countless students will be celebrating their spring break in the great outdoors of Utah and some may regrettably make the mistake of defacing federal land by carving their names in rocks.
Historical sites
Some rock carvings are considered valuable to national history and are protected by federal law; these don’t include anyone’s name carved this century. Ancient petroglyphs etched by Native Americans thousands of years ago, carvings done by early settlers in the 1800-1900’s, and other archaeological treasures are protected by 16 U.S. Code 470ee that states: “No person may excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface, or attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any archaeological resource located on public lands or Indian lands ( . . . )” Defacing federal land by carving names or pictures near protected historical sites is in punishable by up to $10,000 and a year behind bars.
Other federal land
Historical writings aren’t the only areas on federal land that are protected; all of it is. Federal land takes up nearly 65% of Utah and includes areas such as:
• National parks
• National monuments
• BLM land
• National recreation areas, and
• National forests
The second anyone steps foot onto any land managed by a federal agency, they are expected to treat the area with respect by not defacing federal land with carvings or other destructive behavior such as a “monument, statue, marker, guidepost, ( . . . ) or tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of any national military parks” spoken of in 16 U.S. Code 413.
Leave the area the way you found it
A good rule of thumb when visiting federal land is to leave the area the way you found it. Not taking anything away with you or leaving anything in your wake such as rock carvings will protect the beautiful area we live in and prevent possible charges for defacing federal land.
