Petroglyph thieves grab and deface California carvings

[byeya]

10. This is an example of the profit driven crimes very common on our public lands. Cultural artifacts

like the rock art above or Revolutionary War or Civil War artifacts illegally removed from national monuments are worth a lot to thieves who sell them to unethical collectors.

Also high on the list are black bear gall bladders - the bears are poached and the gall bladders bring hundreds of dollars from the Asian medical market; cacti; orchids; and other collectible plants. Among the highest priced animals are Bog turtles and several species of snakes and lizards. There's a large international market for these.

There are fewer rangers and US Forest Service officers than before and most of them are restricted to heavy visitor use areas and seldom are able to make routine patrols of the back country.

Our cultural heritage, as preserved by our public lands, is being systematically stolen from us.