We have previously discussed the increasing appearance of graffiti in our national and state parks. As is well known on his blog, hiking is my passion and there is nothing more crushing than to see juvenile carvings and writings on trees and rocks in parks. Indeed, today I am heading to New Mexico for a speech and hope to hike in the wonderful trails outside of the city. I have written that the scourge of graffiti is due to the low detection rate and even lower penalties for those committing these crimes. The most recent case demonstrates vividly how the government still treats the crime as a minor matter. Recently, Actress Vanessa Hudgens posted a picture of her carving of a heart into a red rock wall during a trip to Sedona, Arizona on federal park land. However, when nabbed by the federal government, they allowed her to walk with just $1000 donated to a charity. Now we have another egregious case of a San Diego woman, Casey Nocket, 23, who defaced a series of national parks with graffiti and bragged about on social media. Yet, Nocket was sentenced to only two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. The laughable sentence vividly illustrates why the destruction of our parks continues without any meaningful deterrence.
Casey Nocket is a nightmare for environmentalists. A shallow, narcissistic individual who relished putting graffiti on pristine areas within seven national parts, including Yosemite in California and Zion in Utah. She used Instagram and Tumblr to brag about her dubious accomplishments.
Yet, here is a case of extensive and premeditated acts of vandalism — followed by bragging on social media. Yet, even in this case, Nocket will only face two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. They are still trying to clean up the mess but Nocket will effectively walk.
Until we get seriously about sentencing these people to jail, there is little hope for deterrence in our national parks.
She should have to clean it up and do her community service, then move on. 23 is really young and young people do dumb things. I don’t think she should be branded for life for this.
What a name. Does her head whistle when she shakes it?
Paul- Sure but only the original culprits.
JT – Prison?!? For graffiti? OMG!!! You sound like one of those idiot Trumpsters. Fines and community service are EXACTLY the right sentence.
What causes this senseless desire to imprison people who are not a danger to anyone?
Hell, if prison is the right punishment for mere acts of stupidity, then there should be millions of Trump voters behind bars.
Paul – I don’t know what that is, I’m not much of an art buff. Haters gonna hate! Everyone must have been to a museum and seen works that made them feel like they could make it in the art world.
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Although back to this ridiculous focus of negative energy- I propose:
The National Park Service shall award a reasonable sum of cash to excellent artwork based on how big and awesome your stuff is. Crappy things will be labeled to be painted over, and more enterprising artists will see their work displayed on the NPS calender.
I can see it now: Painting the best different cliff on an existing cliff! Ya know, like an epic photoshop. Can you IMAGINE? The immense production coordination and talent needed to do something so grand!
HEY MAYBE TRUMP COULD DO IT!
Our parks are the best! We got Victoria Falls and New Zealand’s mountains painted on the grand canyon walls! Yea that’s right, everyone ten billion years in the future is going to know how AMERICANS represent and build quality to last! We dyed white sands park a third each red and blue, and now it is shifting in beautiful patriotic dunes. We also placed some fifty stars in the upper left corner in the proper arrangement. You can see it from space- glorious.
Stone Age artists drew graffiti on cave walls in Chauvet France almost 40,000 years ago. Some “experts” believe the Chauvet cave may have been used as a sacred temple for religious rites and ceremonies. The artwork of horses, rhinos, lions, etc. was drawn on the walls as part of that religious experience. Nobody is cussing the Stone Age artists for defacing the cave walls. In fact, it’s considered an invaluable archeological find. It has near scared status. Again. Authorities won’t even let people in the cave to see the vandalism left by the Stone Agers because people exhaling in the cave may damage the graffiti.
It just goes to show that human nature hasn’t changed much. A cave in Chauvet France may have been considered sacred by Stone Age man who defaced it with graffiti and now modern humans consider the cave sacred because Stone Age man defaced it with graffiti. Maybe our little vandal, Casey, had a pseudo-spiritual/religious experience connecting with nature in the state park and decided to leave her mark on the rock, just like her Stone Age ancestors left their graffiti on the walls of the cave about 40,000 years ago. Or maybe neither Casey nor the Stone Agers had a religious experience and they are narcissists who get their kicks out of defacing rocks with graffiti.
As a former NPS employee I would be fine with a sentence where she would be required to restore the defaced area back to its original condition before she begins her community service.
Mike – would you be fine with the Native Americans restoring Horseshoe Canyon to its natural state?
Mount Rushmore, the worst case of scenic vandalism in the U.S.
Jim22 – I agree that Mount Rushmore has some visual problems but that has to do with the government refusing to pay to finish the busts. That is why the Crazy Horse Monument is privately funded.
Yikes.
Dave-
How are natural features ‘ruined’ if they are drawn on?
Do they cease to function? Have they been broken down to the bare bones of existence?
How do we establish a punishment when you say nobody owns the land?
Is that not the right of the owner?
It is your right to get upset about this. To me, it is a big nothing and hypocritical if you enjoy any cave or canyon art from history which had to be put there by humans.
That’s “How” and “not”, the Marquis apologize.
HIW COME THE LEFT COAST IS GOING NUTS OVER THUS?
Their claim is that of “Freedom of Expression,” The law maintains that FoE is applied when the property use to express the freedom is clearly by law theirs.
Therefore, only if they own that landmark can they deface it.
They are not entitled to FoE protection if they only rent, much less only visit that site.
The kid that painted the hill had to clean it by using a tooth brush and to many that claim the punishment violated his right to FoE was wrong. He did not own that land.
Punishment needs to set example not be a pay off to a court fine or fee.
Can you pay a fine for murder because your religious rights say you had a right to kill someone because of who they were.
To many times we have used green backs instead of justice.
Our laws are broke and favor DOLLARS over Justice to much.
Steg: There is a massive difference between creating art on personal property and ruining natural features that belong to no one. Arguing about how to define art isn’t the point, it’s where, the medium on which, that “art” is located.
Paul: You are not part of that natural environment. In such places you’re a visitor only; and unless you own the property, leave it alone.
Dave127 – I am as much a part of the natural environment as any other animal. I am an apex predator in that environment.
If I had done this, I’d be waiting for the Bureau of Prisons to advise me as to where in the Federal Gulag I would be sent for the next 5 years!
one of my favorite childhood memories:
I was going to make the same point as Jim22 and Paul S.
I recall this article: https://jonathanturley.org/2016/06/10/ancient-tasmanian-hand-prints-destroyed-by-vandals/
Isn’t this article here such cognitive dissonance? If the Tasmanian had not ‘defaced’ the pristine wall, then we wouldn’t be witness to it today. Why do you, Mr. Turley and followers, move to quash the creative human spirit?
Who is going to decide which works of art survive the test of time for another intelligent civilization to find and puzzle over? Surely you all understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that what you all see as a horrible defacement of a natural rock face, others have a completely legitimate and equal opinion that it represents a beautiful work of impromptu art.
Steg – I am currently reading up on the Armory Show where they brought post-modern art to the United States. It was amazing how the critics did not like post-modernism or cubism.