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PLEASE CONSIDER CAREFULLY ANY RESPONSES TO THIS POST THAT WILL BE DIRECTED TO THE WHOLE LIST. PERSONAL OR PRIVATE COMMENTS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO [log in to unmask] Colleagues, On a field trip to Bartlett Wash north of Moab, SE Utah last week I came across a particularly sad case of geo-vandalism. The exact location of the affected outcrop is: 38° 43' 00.09" N 109° 47' 17.85" W. Many of you may have visited this spectacular location on university or industry field trips, or for your own research purposes. The location of the exposure is on a splay off the main Moab Fault, and it illustrates many aspects of brittle deformation and fluid flow, as well as some un-paralled exposures of aeolian dune sets in the Slickrock member of the Entrada Formation. It's a truly world-class field location and has been used in a number of publications and texts, including the following figure in Haakon Fossen's structural geology textbook. Figure 8.11 in Structural Geology by Haakon Fossen (Cambridge University Press) One of the key aspects of this location is the 100% exposure of deformation bands in the footwall of the fault and their relationship to fluid flow. Students can measure and plot deformation band density in the footwall of the fault and it's a great location to discuss their influence of fluid migration. Anyway, this (formally) pristine outcrop is now missing a few of the deformation bands in Haakon's photo due to some mindless geo-vandalism (see below) Photo taken by Roy Luck on September 29th 2011.......note the rock powder spread around the outcrop showing evidence of very recent cutting I really hope this geo-vandalism wasn't undertaken by a geological research group, but I'm finding it hard to think why anyone else who would go to the effort of lugging a rock saw up on to the outcrop in order to remove samples of deformation bands from this fantastic location. I've discovered that the damage to this outcrop was first reported to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management......the Federal Gov agency that has responsibility for the Bartlett Wash recreation area) on September 29th 2011 by a group visiting the location on a field trip. As chance would have it, I can tie down the date that this geo-vandalism occurred to a 3 day window (Sept 26th, 27th or 28th 2011)......here's a photograph of the same outcrop at 520pm on September 25th 2011, when I was at Bartlett Wash with a field class. Me, rabbiting on about faults and deformation bands 523pm Sept 25th 2011. Pristine outcrop behind me with location of geo-vadalism shown by red circle. Using a rocksaw to extract samples from BLM lands is illegal under federal law (sampling of an intact rock body requires a permit). The BLM office in Moab did not approve of any permits for sampling at Bartlett Wash (nor, they assure me, would they have done) and once informed of the damage notified the law enforcement agencies in Moab about this criminal act. Beyond being a crime however, this wanton vandalism of such a stunning outcrop is utterly mid-boggling to me. Again, I don't know who did this, I don't know that it was a geologist, but again I'm struggling to think who else would go to the effort of extracting deformations bands from an outcrop in such a manner. So, what to do? I'm sure many of you have seen examples of such outcrop desecration in other areas and on some of your favourite locations. I know for example that this has been a problem in the UK and the Geol Soc has an active campaign to stop it. We know that this particular act of geo-vandalism took place on either September 26, 27 or 28th 2011. If you have any information on who may have committed this crime you can contact me at [log in to unmask], or contact the BLM office in Moab directly. The geologist there is Becky Doolittle ([log in to unmask]).....she will pass on any information to the law enforcement agencies. Many thanks Bruce PLEASE CONSIDER CAREFULLY ANY RESPONSES TO THIS POST THAT WILL BE DIRECTED TO THE WHOLE LIST. PERSONAL OR PRIVATE COMMENTS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO [log in to unmask] Dr Bruce Trudgill Associate Professor Department of Geology and Geological Engineering Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado 80401-1887 USA Telephone: (1) 303 273-3883 FAX: (1) 303 273-3859 Dr Bruce Trudgill Associate Professor Department of Geology and Geological Engineering Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado 80401-1887 USA Telephone: (1) 303 273-3883 FAX: (1) 303 273-3859