SPRINGDALE — A visitor found out just how treasured Zion National Park is after he scribbled on one of its signature red rocks.
Backlash on social media was "swift and severe, prompting him to admit to the wrong-doing and cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation," park authorities said in a statement Monday.
Pictures posted online over the weekend show rocks with names and initials written in hearts, plus an Instagram handle. The park did not say whether the messages were all written by the same person and did not identify the alleged vandal.
Photographer Joe Braun captured the writing and posted it on Facebook, saying he spotted it beside the popular Angel's Landing trail. Other writing in marker appears beside "@SuspenceFitness," the name of an account on the Instagram photo-sharing app that has since been deleted or had its name changed.
Wrote Braun, "I spat some water at the writing and rubbed a bit just to see if it would come off easily. It would not; it looks like it was done in permanent marker ... It makes me very sad that so many people don't know how to behave in our national parks."
Crews cleaned the area Monday, but restoration can often take a long time and be costly, the park said in its statement.
Defacing parts of national parks and public lands degrades other visitors' experience and is illegal, it added. The park said civil and criminal actions are pending, but did not offer specifics.