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Show ? v ; civ ' 11 I I J .. of vandalised BLM trailer near Paria Canyon. '(,' iim.'t' was done by two ax wielding men. . ; '.yirj the trailer cost taxpayers $8,000. iandals, unfortunately, come in all shapes-sizes e number of recreant recrea-nt visiting and enjoy -.. Bureau of Land lands in I'Uih is and unfortunately, s vandalism. Graffiti, yr. arson, theft and cuon are the calling L-i$ of vandals. Vcidlism is as old as civilization. The ancient city of Rome w as plagued by arson, graffiti and other forms of destruction. destruc-tion. In fact, the term, "vandal," comes from an ancient tribe of barbarians called Vandals, who looted loot-ed and ravaged Rome; thuse the title "vandal" for anyone who commits U-wTJ .:V 'kv-v This shattered pot was the only thing left behind by vandals w ho sacked a valuable archeological site near Moab. senseless acta of destruction. destruc-tion. The cost of preventing vandalism is high, but the price of repairing and replacing public property is even higher. "In Utah this year the Bureau of Land Management has spent about $40,000, including in-cluding the cost of man-hours, man-hours, replacing destroyed destroy-ed equipment and facilities," facili-ties," noted Paul L. Howard, BLM state director direc-tor for Utah. How ever, the $40,000 price tag does not include vandalism to archeological sites. "Here the price cannot be measured in dollars," said Howard. Of all vandalism committed com-mitted on public lands, defacing and destroying archeological sites is the most frustrating, childish and senseless behavior of .so-called adults. "There is no cost to the public in dollars" said Howard, referring to archeological destruction. "The price can only be measured in anguish because petro-glyphs, petro-glyphs, kivas and picto-graphs picto-graphs cannot be replaced. replac-ed. Some acts of vandalism are inexpensive and petty while others are expensive and malicious. Incidents range from tearing down rv- -t i, p;:. y-.f . .'? ' ' n'K'-.. ; This sign is only one of many hundereds defaced and destroyed by vandals each year. This sign cost $125 to replace. signs to dynamiting outdoor out-door toilets. A BLM trailer at the entrance to Paria Canyon was replaced as a cost to the taxpayer of $8,000 after it was destroyed des-troyed with an ax. Destruction to information infor-mation and regulatory signs is perhaps the most common act of vandalism on BLM public lands. Most BLM signs are at remote trail or road junctions which makes replacing them difficult. These signs also are the only guideposts to thousands thou-sands of recreationists fishing, hiking or just seeking solitude. Besides the obvious recreational inconvenience inconven-ience to the public, the cost of replacing signs is high. A small sign will run about $25; a medium-sized explanatory sign, $125-$250; $125-$250; and a large sign, about $500 to $1,000. This cost does not include the wages of BLM personnel replacing a sign. It sometimes seems that the better the facilities, the more recurrent the destruction. This may be because the most complete com-plete facilities are in areas where visitor use is high enough to warrant them. Facilities in remote areas may have sporadic damage, but often the damage is more complete. There are very few people in remote BLM recreational recrea-tional areas so vandals are willing to take a chance and stay long enough to l , 'i V '. .. Vt . X i v i ' , t . " r ' ' , ... ' .--i. ... " . A " ' ' JL Vandals in search of rare and valuable archeological artifacts don't even hesitate to dig-up graves. This Indian skull was found at a destroyed archeological site near Moab. finish their work. Pulling picnic tables out of the ground and burning them, burning and exploding outhouses, and stealing anything (including government gov-ernment property that is bolted into concrete) are not uncommon occurrences. occur-rences. What kind of person would shoot-up petro-glyphs; petro-glyphs; rip picnic tables out of the ground or destroy BLM informational information-al signs? Vandals come from all age groups, both sexes, and all income brackets and social classes. clas-ses. Vandalism is committed commit-ted because destructive acts are tolerated by peers and the public in general. Many persons are afraid to get involved or even call an enforcement officer. "BLM hasn't the manpower man-power to patrol all the public lands it administers all the time. Without involvement by the public in preventing and reporting report-ing vandalism it could become a worse problem and even more costly to taxpayers," said Howard. |