DENVER – What can we do as a culture to cut down on incidences of graffiti at our national parks? That’s the question Mesa Verde National Park officials are asking after the park was the recent target of vandals.

In a long message posted on their Facebook page, Mesa Verde National Park officials said they are seeing more and more evidence of graffiti, vandalization and intentional littering.

In one such incident, someone rubbed names onto the sandstone using prehistoric charcoal which officials say the vandal dug up in an archeological site along the Petroglyph Point Trail.

“Not only did this/these individuals vandalize the cliff side, they destroyed archeological artifacts to do so,” an official wrote on Facebook.

Another example of the blatant disrespect for the park? Painted rocks appearing across national park sites as part of a social media scavenger hunt.

But it doesn’t end there.

Letters and shapes were also recently found by park officials. These were carved into prehistoric grinding slicks on the Petroglyph Point Trail, permanently damaging the artifacts, the official said.

And last but not least, graffiti was also found etched in sandstone on the Knife Edge Trail, near the Morefiled Campground.

“The purpose of the National Park Service is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations,” the official said.

The official also urged visitors to report any suspicious activity of vandalism to the nearest Park Ranger or to staff in the Chief Ranger’s Office, located next to the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.

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