Defacement of natural beauty is a crime. But when you do it in a national park, it really is a crime. Where it gets tricky, however, lies within the nature of the crime. There’s a fine line between good clean fun and complete utter disrespect, and even more, what does illegal activity exactly entail?
Earlier this week, a group of Boy Scout leaders destroyed a 200 million-year-old rock structure in Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. The three men even filmed themselves as they knocked over one of the formations, known as “goblins.” The video has since gone viral and has sparked an outcry from disgruntled nature lovers from around the globe. Now, the leaders of our nation’s youth may be facing felony charges.
In the video, posted on Facebook, one of the Boy Scout leaders leverages himself against a nearby rock and pushing it down into a shallow crevasse, destroying the rock formation. They validated their actions by claiming that the rock, which has stood atop the same formation for 20 million years, could have fallen over and hurt someone.
"Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way," the cameraman is heard saying. "So it’s all about saving lives here at Goblin Valley."
As the rock falls, the men laugh, shout and celebrate with a round of high fives. While they were all smiles, Utah State Parks officials were not as cheery.
"It is not only wrong, but there will be consequences," said spokesman Eugene Swalberg. "This is highly, highly inappropriate. This is not what you do at state parks. It’s disturbing and upsetting."
While the investigation is currently underway, the three Boy Scout leaders will be on time out while they think back on their actions. Whether or not they’re felons is up for debate, but regardless, their actions must be addressed to avoid similar incidents in the future.
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