Tips lead to vandalism suspect

SALT LAKE CITY – A Huntington man has been charged in the vandalism this summer of a pictograph panel in Buckhorn Draw of the San Rafael Swell.

Jeremy Shane Craig, 22, of Huntington, faces a third-degree felony charge of violating the antiquities protection law, the county attorney’s office said.

Craig is to appear Tuesday before District Judge Bruce K. Halliday. A second person is being sought, Deputy Emery County Attorney Brent Langston said.

The vandalism is believed to have occurred about July 19.

The message “I love you, Wendy,” with picture symbols used for all but Wendy, was chalked on the sandstone wall near the ancient paintings.

A $1,000 reward for information was posted by the Emery County sheriff’s office, the Bureau of Land Management and a group concerned about restoring historic sites, Sheriff LaMar Guymon said. He said three people came forward with information, and the reward will be distributed if a conviction results.

BLM archaeologist Julie A. Howard of Salt Lake City said the agency is pleased with the tips from the public.

“We need more people to be our eyes and ears,” Howard said. “Vandalism to rock art, whether from ignorance or malice, has resulted in irreparable damage.”

The prehistoric rock art is believed to have been created 2,000 to 4,000 years ago, and it is not the first time that it has been damaged.

In 1994, the panel was repaired through efforts of local citizens and private donations. Fencing, interpretive signs and other facilities were installed.

A report by Constance S. Silver of Preservar Inc., a conservation expert who worked to restore the panel both 10 years ago and this summer, noted that after authorities requested that the public not try to remove the vandalism, someone tried to take it off by washing off the chalk and covering that part of the panel with mud.

The attempt made things worse. The surface of the rock previously was a rosy color, tinted by the fragile desert varnish that formed naturally on the sandstone centuries ago, Silver said.

“The vandalism and subsequent ‘washing’ and mud application totally destroyed the desert varnish. As a result, the panel has been irreparably damaged,” she said.

More than two days of work was needed to treat the vandalism. On Aug. 7 and 8, the mud was removed and the raw surface of the rock was recolored with watercolors and pastels. Conservation and treatment costs amounted to $2,500.

This treatment will have a life span of no more than eight to 10 years, Silver said.