PETROGLYPH NATIONAL MONUMENT – What’s described as “countless cases” of vandalism and damage have forced the partial closure of highly trafficked trails in New Mexico’s Petroglyph National Monument, effective April 29.
Visitors have been moving rocks from their original locations to stack into cairns, which can cause damage to archeological and cultural sites. The Mesa Top area within Boca Negra Canyon and the uppermost segment of Mesa Point Trail will close.
“This is a special place that warrants our protection and care,” said Petroglyph National Monument Superintendent Nancy Hendricks. “At Boca Negra Canyon, we are constantly seeing increased damage from visitors scratching, moving and stacking rock, and from off-trail use. These impacts cause long-term and even permanent damage to irreplaceable cultural sites.”
Boca Negra Canyon is home to the most visited and most accessible petroglyphs in the national monument and is its only fully developed area.
