Park Superintendent Kate Cannon said the graffiti vandalism was discovered earlier this month, and measures about four feet across and three feet high.
Cannon said this latest vandalism is part of a growing “tidal wave of graffiti” at Arches and other national parks in recent years. Two years ago, eight national parks in the west began the task of cleaning up the graffiti left behind by idiots who obviously have no respect for themselves or others.
The desecration of the landmarks at all eight parks was discovered after pictures of the “handiwork” were posted on social media. And while some of the graffiti at the other parks can be erased or in other ways be minimized by park personnel, the cost will be coming out of our pockets, all because of a few imbecilic jackasses.
The graffiti at Arches is another story, reports Fox News. It is etched so darned deep that it may be impossible to cover it up or remove it. Cannon said they could try reducing the graffiti’s visibility by grinding down the rock around the marks, but this would cause further damage to the rock’s surface.
Another possibility would be to fill in the gouges with a material that would blend in with the rock surface, but with the natural weathering of the rock, it is impossible to determine if it would be permanent or be unnoticeable. In either case, it is going to take a lot of work to repair the damage.
I don’t know if people even realize that it’s a criminal offense to deface a national park or monument. If anyone is caught defacing any part of a national park, they can face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Cannon says she doesn’t understand it but the graffiti seems to have become inexplicably popular with visitors. “It is really overwhelming,” she said.
There are over 2,000 named arches in Arches National Park. The geological formations are actually what is left of a porous Entrada sandstone laid down over 140 million years ago. If the region where the park is located was to start receiving a lot of rainfall, the fragile sandstone formations we see now would erode so quickly that arches might not have time to form. It took over 100 million years to form the Arches National Park, and it took just one day to ruin a piece of it.
Park officials are asking the public for help, hoping someone will come forward with any information on the vandals. And the public should be outraged over this vandalism. Our national parks are our legacy to the next generation. The natural beauty and magnificence of these lands that have been set aside are to be enjoyed by all of us. So be outraged when someone tries to destroy what is ours.
I have always been of the opinion that if someone acts like a pig in public, they probably live in a pig sty at home. The same can be said of someone who thinks it’s funny to vandalize public property. These idiots have little or no respect for the world around them.
