The petroglyph site near Moab changed my mind about preservation fences.

I used to think chainlink fences around rock art were ugly and unnecessary until I saw the graffiti on a panel that didn't have one in Utah last spring, has anyone else seen similar damage at unprotected sites?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa3943d ago

The Birch Creek site in southern Idaho had the same problem. I saw names carved right into the basalt from 2019, not even old vandalism. A few feet away was a fenced panel that looked untouched from the 1800s. People really do ruin things if you let them get close enough. The chainlink is ugly but it works better than nothing.

kim_nelson3d agoTop Commenter

And that's exactly what happened at the Indian Creek petroglyph site outside Moab a few years back. They put up a low wooden rail, but people just stepped over it to get selfies touching the rock art. My buddy was out there in 2021 and said some moron carved "Jake + Emily 2020" right next to a bighorn sheep that was probably 800 years old. So yeah, I get why they go with the chainlink now even if it looks like a prison yard. It's better than letting the place get completely destroyed.