Charges Filed Again Man Accused Of Stealing Ancient Dinosaur Track
Charges have now been filed against a
man who is accused of stealing a sandstone slab containing a
footprint fossil from a dinosaur
site near Moab.
The man allegedly pried the rock from
the ground and hauled it away. He apparently brought tools and
equipment with him and a premeditated act.
When the theft attracted international
attention, he apparently started to feel the heat and so he dumped
the rock into the Colorado River.
Now, news media around the world will
publish details about the charges. KSL.com
has the story here. Below are excerpts.
Jared Frederick
Ehlers, 35, was indicted on one count each of removal of
paleontological resources, theft of government property, depredation
of government property and destruction of evidence.
Authorities
believe Ehlers pried a fossilized Allosaurus footprint out of the
ground near the Hell's Revenge off-road trail on Feb. 17. The track
was later dumped off Dewey Bridge into the Colorado River, about 30
miles east of Moab.
Members of the
Utah Department of Public Safety's dive team spent several hours
Saturday searching the river for the fossil but came up empty.
Not long ago, two men were charged with
intentionally destroying rock formations in Goblin
Valley State Park. That case also prompted news reports around
the world. Here's
one. Those men made a video and posted it on YouTube, for all
the world to see.
So, are we winning or losing the fight
to preserve priceless natural treasures? These two cases suggest
people should think twice before engaging in such abhorrent acts. The
world is watching, and the pressure can be intense when you become
the subject of world-wide rage.
Safely, people who commit such acts
seem to lack common sense, at least at the time of the infraction.
They don't seem to be thinking clearly and they later say they regret
their actions.
How can we protect these resources? We
can't put a park ranger next to every
ancient/historic/geologic/scenic attraction. And we wouldn't want to.
Such a heavy-handed approach would detract from the outdoor
experience.
Someone apparently turned in the Moab
dino thief. I'd like to express my thanks to that person, whoever it
was. We all need to have the courage to do that. If you see people
engaged in illegal or unethical behavior, turn them in. If we work
together to report problems - if people know we are working together
to report problems - it will go a long way toward deterring
perpetrators.
- Dave Webb
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