Legend Rock petroglyph site vandalism under investigation

The Legend Rock petroglyph site northwest of town is one of living history, helping tell the story of the area. Among those who formed the rock art thousands of years ago, Jordon Norris wasn't likely.

The name appears on one of the rocks at Legend Rock, however, and Parks Superintendent Kevin Skates said he was notified of the vandalism about two weeks ago; the Sheriff's Office is helping investigate it.

There is no Jordon Norris listed in the registration book, Skates noted, and while there are security cameras at the visitors center, and it is likely the vandal appears on footage, there are no cameras trained specifically to the site. Likewise, there are staff at the visitor's center, but they are not able to monitor the trail all the time.

On the positive side, Skates said the vandalism is not over any of the existing petroglyphs, and there are staff trained to diminish the vandalism. It won't get rid of it completely, but it will make it less noticeable. Skates further explained reducing the visibility utilizes distilled water, small brushes and acrylic paint matched to the color of the rock. Twice over the past eight years, a rock conservator has come out to clean up vandalism, but also trained staff in the procedure.

If the vandalism happens to go over the petroglyphs, Skates said the visibility reduction can be the same some times, but a determining factor is how deep the vandalism goes.

Skates encourages people to visit the site, but knows with more people it means having to deal with things like vandalism and trash left everywhere. He noted the trail formerly used to allow people right up to the petroglyphs, but it was moved about three or four years ago to where it is now, about 20-30 feet back.

Vandalism is something of a regular occurrence at Legend Rock, Skates said. There wasn't any a couple years back, but there was some last year. In reference to the latter, he added the vandals might have thought they were helping by filling in old vandalism with markers, but it is still marking up the rock.

Legend Rock is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. from May to September. Outside these months, a special key must be obtained to access the site.