Climbing Bolts Found by Ancient Petroglyph

A rock climber in Utah got a little too close to an ancient engraving, and authorities are trying to find the culprit. The federal Bureau of Land Management posted a photo that shows climbing bolts illegally placed on what is known as the Pregnant Sheep Petroglyph Panel, reports KUTV. The prehistoric panel in northeastern Utah is located on federal land near the Musket Shot Springs Overlook, roughly 11 miles from Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, per CBS News and NBC News.

It's not clear just how extensive the damage is: The bolts were placed in the rock below images of a human figure and animal, but on what the BLM considers the larger panel—and that panel is protected by the Archeological Resource Protection Act. A first-time offender technically faces up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine. The climbing advocacy group Access Fund, which normally fights for climbers' access to federal land, is in this case condemning the climber's route. "The desecration of cultural resources and sacred sites, and bolting done in close proximity to such sites, is completely antithetical to Access Fund's values," executive director Heather Thorne tells NBC. (More petroglyphs stories.)