Fourteen men from Nevada are charged with vandalizing ancient 140 million-year-old rock formations.

In April, a video surfaced showing Wyatt Fain and Payden Cosper damaging rock formations.

Fourteen men from Nevada are charged with vandalizing ancient 140 million-year-old rock formations.
Fourteen men from Nevada are charged with vandalizing ancient 140 million-year-old rock formations.

In April, two men from Nevada were charged with damaging ancient rock formations at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which are estimated to be 140 million years old, and could face imprisonment.

According to The Associated Press, Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, have been charged with one count of injury and depredation of government property and one count of aiding and abetting.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a trial has been scheduled for Oct. 8, and the men could potentially receive a prison sentence of up to 10 years if found guilty.

On Friday, both Fain and Cosper, residents of Henderson, were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and appeared in court for the first time. They both entered a plea of not guilty and were released on a personal recognizance bond, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Redstone Trail at Lake Mead
Jutting rocks and natural caves carved out by erosion and weathering at Lake Mead's Redstone Trail. (A. Harrison/NPS)

On April 7, a video was posted on social media showing men allegedly pushing boulders until they fell in front of a screaming little girl on the Redstone Dunes Trail.

The National Park Service (NPS) states that the trail is 1.1 miles round trip. The rocks and caves in the area were formed through erosion and weathering.

Lake Mead Sand Island
Lake Mead is seen from Sand Island, which is no longer an island, as unprecedented drought reduces Colorado River and Lake Mead to critical water levels on Sept. 18, 2022 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (David McNew/Getty Images)

According to the NPS website, over time, geological forces transformed the loose dunes into solid sandstone.

Every year, approximately 6 million visitors flock to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which covers a vast expanse of 2,344 square miles, featuring mountains and desert canyons just outside of Las Vegas.

Lake Mead rocks
Rugged eroded Volcanic basalt near Lake Mead in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Park officials frequently depend on the public to monitor resources within park limits due to low staffing levels, according to authorities.

The estimated cost of the damage caused by the rock formations falling off the cliff edge is over $1,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

by Pilar Arias

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