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Show ote a Roan ees > Price ‘< DETAIL Wellington AREA 6 BUCKHORN WASH SITE ai photo by Buckhorn Restoration Project Restoring pictographs is painstaking work at Buckhorn hand tools. Volunteers had 20 wheelbarrows going at one time, Martin said. “The neat thing is that all these volunteers, including the kids who took part in restoring the site, love it and respect it now. We think that will carry over. They'll protect it.” To their credit in “interpreting” the NORTH site for the public, the committee didn’t ROCK ART continued from page 9 The work of moving 900 feet of road away from the prehistoric rock art began in spring. The only place for the thoroughfare to go was to the edge of Wash. The Emery County Buckhorn group wanted to pave that section of the road to keep dust off the rock art panel. But a because it borders Wilderness Study Area, they ran into opposition from environmental advocates. A compromise, treating the gravel with an enzyme to suppress dust, kept the project on track. nN a a = = ae a n the early summer, Silver and volunteers patiently toiled at cleaning off graffiti from the rock art. Every kind of modern paint or pigment found on the panel was researched to figure out how to remove it without damaging the rock underneath. Using a hydraulic lift to reach high sections of the wall, Silver blasted graffiti with microabrasives under magnification, wearing it from the surface. Volunteers used wire brushes, fiberglass erasers, q and even an adhesive tape that removes paint but leaves the soft rock It took Silver and vol= surface behind. six hot weeks over three a unteers months to complete the task. The group brought in an archaeoloa 2 put up signs with definitive captions ist to excavate for Indian artifacts explaining what the paintings mean. before they began digging footings for Buckhorn’s brief placards leave the the wood-and-stone fence. In the fall, reader with a sense of wonder. After all, volunteers landscaped and cleaned up. no one knows what the figures signified They built several simple benches at to the artistic nomads who drew them. strategic panel-viewing locations. The committee printed a brochure His volunteers were often joined in about the rock art, and what’s known of their labors by people just passing the people who created it, as part of through, Martin remembered with a grin. their educational program. “One time a car with California plates The site’s new landscaping is subtle drove up. A man got out with a tripod and the sheltering cliff walls still proand a ton of camera equipment and starting taking pictures. His traveling duce the serenity of Notre Dame Cathedral. Eerie anthropomorphic figcompanion came over and we gave her ures again dominate the sandstone wall, a pair of garden gloves, then put her to work. Hours later, the California couple as they did for thousands of years before European-Americans arrived. donated $20 before continuing on Painted birds, snakes, dogs, and insects down the road. Another time, a guy stand out as well. from Oregon stopped for a visit, then The paintings’ muted colors come spent the whole day working with our | from pigments made from plants such rock mason. as yellow and red ochre, pinyon gum, “People from Salt Lake would call and mountain mahogany mixed with and ask when they could help. Then they’d bring their friends and their plant oil and animal fat. Paint was applied with brushes of human hair, whole families along. dog hair, yucca fibers or through hol“We got donations from all over. We low bird bones. got one contribution with a note, ‘I hope you find the bastards that did that [vandalized the art]’.” Volunteers quarried 12 tons of landscaping stone from a BLM pit and hauled it to Buckhorn. Scout troops and church groups donated time and equipment. Forty-eight cubic yards of fill was wheeled into place and spread with t the dedication, Pete Yellowjohn, a Shoshone from Ft. Hall, Idaho blessed the site in a 20-minute ceremony. “What we see here,” Yellowjohn said, “was prepared a long time ago by people who care.” Martin said he spent all of his free Wash. time for two years on the project. But, “The project was a true partnership, without the cooperation of all of the organizations, agencies, and people, it would not have happened.” Martin’s committee plaques and certificates of appreciation from the BLM, the National Register of Historic Places, the Utah Legacy Committee, and the Emery County Historical Society. Has the group’s idea worked? Do visitors treat the site with respect? “Well, it's been over a year,” said Martin. “Someone cut a picture out of a sign at the site. Someone carved their name into a nearby rock last Easter, and someone stole a slab of rock that was the seat of a bench. There are always a few jerks. But there’s been no vandalism on the panel, and visitors leave almost no litter,” he marveled. Gnojek asks that if you visit the San Rafael Swell, please find ways to keep your impact to a minimum. The sandy soil erodes quickly when tracked, and footprints on the black crust that holds the sand in place may not recover in your lifetime. Wood is scarce and needed by the bugs, birds, and animals. Bring your own firewood ,and a firepan to burn it on; don’t use fire rings. Carry in all the water you’ll need. Though it’s not mandatory yet - because it is in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area - bring a portable toilet. Martin said there’s something left for everyone to do. “Help us protect this site.” Touching a rock art panel leaves oils on the rock that eventually erode it; look, don’t touch. Report any van- dals to the BLM office in Price (801) 636-3600, or the Emery County Sheriff (801) 381-2404. @ |
