Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
KANAB — A few different emotions ran through Autumn Gillard's mind after she saw the image of a person who appeared to be carving into a petroglyph panel along Wire Pass Trail, a scenic and sacred hiking area near the Utah-Arizona border.
She remembers feeling shocked, saddened and disappointed by the image that the Kane County Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Land Management released as they investigated a petroglyph vandalism case that occurred on Nov. 23.
For many who visit, petroglyphs and prehistoric rock art are pieces of history, little symbols from people who lived on the land hundreds of years ago. In this case, the damaged imagery is believed to have been left behind about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. But for Gillard, the cultural resource manager for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and other tribal members, the site and its history mean so much more — and seeing it damaged hurts more.
"I always want people to understand who the Southern Paiute people are, and I feel like — through the destruction and the vandalism of our ancestral sites — it takes away that tangible connection for people to realize that Southern Paiute people have been on this landscape for eons," she said. "It's an erasure of us."
That image ultimately led to the arrest of a woman a week later in a case that federal land managers say will play out in the U.S. District Court of Utah. Yet, representatives of local, state, federal and tribal agencies say what happened at Wire Pass is only a fraction of a reoccurring issue on public land.
That's why they hope last month's incident ultimately serves as a teachable moment for the millions of people who recreate in Utah's outdoors every year.
"I think the only good thing that can come out of something bad happening like what happened at Wire Pass, is that we can ... provide some public awareness," said Kane County Sheriff Tracy Glover during an online roundtable discussion about land vandalism with Utah reporters on Thursday.
Sacred history
Life in Utah dates back to at least 13,000 years ago, which is known by the art and artifacts left behind. The state is filled with ancient artifacts, that tell stories about the first peoples of Utah.
These sites — dwellings and petroglyph panels — are also considered "very sacred" for Native American tribes, Gillard explains. Tribal members often make pilgrimages or hold special ceremonies at these sites.
"For us, as tribal people, these are our churches," she said. "When folks go in and they vandalize panels, or they vandalize cultural sites, we correlate it to the same thing as if somebody was to go into a temple or a religious space and were to write graffiti all over it or to write their name all over it. ... It's very heart-breaking for us because, we — as Indigenous people — we're still connected to those places."
They're often protected by state and federal laws, too, including the Archeological Resource Protection Act, which was created in 1979.
An uptick in vandalism
Local, state, federal and tribal authorities have long dealt with cases of land vandalism like what happened at Wire Pass, but they say what happened at Wire Pass is an example of a surge in incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Utah's state and national parks broke all sorts of records in 2020 and 2021 as scores of people flocked to them as a safe alternative or the only entertainment option during lockdowns. Other public land areas also experienced record visitation, leading to issues including land vandalism.
Bureau officials told KSL.com earlier this month that the November incident was one of a few in that general area this year.
"I've just seen a pretty rapid increase in vandalism on public lands since COVID," said Brian Smith, a Bureau of Land Management law enforcement ranger. "With an increase of visitation on public lands, we get more bad actors — some intentional and some unintentional, but still doing harm to our resources."
It's an especially difficult issue to handle because there's a lot of land to patrol. The Kanab field office, for example, accounts for about 500,000 acres with a handful of officers to monitor it, according to Harry Barber, district manager of the bureau's Paria River district.
Elizabeth Hora, state archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, believes most people likely aren't aware that what they're doing is illegal or damaging. She said moving artifacts around — regardless of where they are — or walking off trails are two examples of little things that people do that often damage archeological sites that are usually "sensitive."
"It takes a really soft touch for humans to leave their trace," she said, adding that intentional and unintentional can still produce negative consequences.
University of Utah and Utah State University researchers have studied cases in Utah as part of efforts to prevent future cases. They found that many cases happen in areas away from roads, trails or other spaces in the public eye.
Protecting the past
Archeologists are still reviewing the Wire Pass damage before complex work to repair it begins, Barber said on Thursday. The agency estimated the damage at $7,000, but state and federal experts agree that the site may never be the same.
In many cases, including what happened last month, damage is caused by scratching into rock, effectively removing any artwork that could be on the rock, Hora said. Those portions are lost forever. In some cases, tribal leaders will ask that this work not be conducted because of the risk of any further damage to a sacred site.
The bottom line is that this is disrespectful to the tribal people of Utah.
–Autumn Gillard, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
That's why various agencies spend their time trying to educate people heading outdoors so they don't intentionally or unintentionally cause more damage to sites cherished by so many. The Utah State Historic Preservation Office, Utah Office of Tourism and Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation have all adopted programs tied to education in recent years.
Federal agencies also tried to tackle the issue, placing educational signs throughout many heavily trafficked areas to discourage future issues. Both Glover and Smith said they rely heavily on bystanders, too, which proved to be vital in making an arrest in the Wire Pass case.
They say bystanders shouldn't physically get involved if it puts them in an unsafe position, but some steps can help future prosecution:
- If possible, take a photo or video of the incident, or other details like a license plate number.
- Call local authorities. If you don't know who oversees the jurisdiction, the agency a person calls can direct the caller to the right agency.
However, Gillard says preventing future public lands and archeological site damage ultimately comes down to people making decisions themselves.
"The bottom line is that this is disrespectful to the tribal people of Utah," she said, advocating that people take time to learn more about the state's tribal culture. "If you are an individual who is going to go outdoors and interact with outdoor spaces, you should be educating yourself about all aspects of that outdoor engagement."
