The National Conservation Lands turn 10 years old this month, and the anniversary is being used to raise awareness of the issues that threaten them, including vandalism, looting and irresponsible recreation.
The 28 million acres of nationally significant landscapes were set aside by Congress in 2000 for current and future generations because of their outstanding cultural, ecological and scientific importance. The 800 units within the National Conservation Lands system are home to Native American sites, rare plants and animals, dinosaur fossils and prehistoric track ways.
In a press release issued on July 1 announcing the anniversary, the Conservation Lands Foundation told of Native American rock art being used for target practice or scratched out; boulders containing petroglyphs vanishing; signs warning of the presence of endangered plants and wildlife being repainted or removed; rock shelters and habitation sites having been burrowed into, sifted through and dug out by people looking for artifacts; and looters disturbing human remains.
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