Utah governor Mike Leavitt has announced a campaign to designate the arid desert wilderness known as the San Rafael Swell a national monument under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The rugged area is known for its spectacular rock art. Left, a red ocher pictograph in the Barrier-Canyon style, first developed by hunter-gatherers perhaps as early as 3000 B.C., depicts a figure with hands outstretched to what appear to be plants with extremely long roots. A zoomorphic "helper figure" is at left. Local preservationists worry that national monument designation will dramatically increase the numbers of visitors to the numerous rock-art panels in the area, putting fragile sites like this at risk. |
