For reasons not clear to state officials, back country hikers have been removing metal markers that identify dangerous abandoned mine sites scheduled for closure.
"Our main concern is public safety," said Mary Ann Wright, who coordinates Utah's Abandoned Mine Reclamation program. "Utah's Wasatch Mountains are riddled with dangerous abandoned mines."Of the 500 Wasatch Front sites marked for closure, about 150 have been closed and another 270 will be closed this year at a cost of $400,000. Reclamation is funded by a tax on Utah coal production.
"The markers identify sites that pose a threat to public safety," Wright added. "We're concerned that people traveling in the back country may think the markers indicate future mining, when in fact they indicate just the opposite."