Visitors can be seen on camera damaging the Nevada Rockies

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LAS VEGAS – Federal authorities are asking for the public's help in tracking down two men who are vandalizing cliffs at a Nevada national recreation area.

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According to Lake Mead National Recreation Area officials, the damage happened last weekend near the Redstone Dune Trail on the north side of the lake. The stony red dunes found there make it one of the most popular hiking spots in the park.

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The video shows two men pushing chunks of sandstone over the edge of the hill as the girl screams. Park officials called the act appalling and said the damage was irreparable.

“It's one of my favorite places in the park and they're destroying it over there. I don't understand it,” John Haynes, public information officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, told KVVU.

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Haynes said such destruction at federally protected sites can lead to felony charges with potential fines and jail time.

Covering 6,071 square kilometers of mountains and desert canyons, Lake Mead National Recreation Area outside Las Vegas attracts nearly 6 million visitors each year. Officials say the level of staffing means park officials often rely on the public to monitor resources within park boundaries.

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Authorities said visitors could use their cellphones to take any video or photo of suspicious activity and collect any information, such as a license plate number, that could help identify offenders. The National Park Service administers the council, which receives thousands of applications each year.

“It's really important to let us know,” Haynes said.

There have been other cases of vandalism on federal land in the West over the past decade, with visitors defacing petroglyphs, knocking over rocks and driving climbing screws into centuries-old rock art.

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