Vandals ‘boldly scratch their names’ into ancient petroglyphs at Texas park, rangers say

Vandals ruined ancient petroglyphs by carving their names into the panel at a Texas national park, rangers said.

Big Bend National Park rangers found the petroglyphs damaged with graffiti on Dec. 26, park officials said in a Tuesday, Jan. 4, news release.

Photos show someone had carved names and the date into the panel, which caused permanent damage.

“A panel of ancient petroglyphs … was irreparably damaged when vandals chose to boldly scratch their names and the date across the prehistoric art,” park rangers said.

Park officials said they’ve seen an increase in vandalism and graffiti at the park, and are investigating the incident.

Archaeologists have documented more than 50 instances of vandalism to the rock art and ancient sites within Big Bend National Park since 2015, according to the National Park Service.

“If you discover vandalized rock art, please don’t attempt to clean it yourself,” park rangers said. “Trained staff will attempt to mitigate the damage as quickly as possible, using highly specialized techniques.”

Damaging resources with graffiti or vandalism within a national park is illegal, and it’s costly to remove.

“Damaging natural features and rock art destroys the very beauty and history that the American people want to protect in our parks,” Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker said in the news release. “With each instance of vandalism, part of our Nation’s heritage is lost forever.”

Big Bend National Park isn’t the only park experiencing an increase in vandalism. Several other national and state parks have reported similar problems.

At Arizona’s Antelope Canyon, rangers found 550 square feet of graffiti and human waste scattered throughout the area in June.

In Utah, Bryce Canyon National Park rangers found a huge graffiti mural painted on a concrete retaining wall. Zion National Park in Utah saw blue spray paint and muddy handprints splattered on sandstone walls, names carved into logs and alcoves, and canyon walls scraped up, park officials said.

“No one comes to the park expecting to see graffiti,” Zion park rangers said. “But nearly every day, staff find words and shapes carved, drawn, painted (with mud, dirt, pigment, paint), or scratched on rocks and more recently even carved within moss.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Vandals ‘boldly scratch their names’ into ancient petroglyphs at Texas park, rangers say."