National parks robbed of heritage

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2008 | by Judy Keen

Looting of fossils and archaeological artifacts from national parks -- such as Native American pottery and Civil War relics -- is increasing as demand for such items rises on the Internet and the world market, National Park Service officials say.

Over the past decade, an average of 340 "significant" looting incidents have been reported annually at the 391 national parks, monuments, historic sites and battlefields -- probably less than 25% of the actual number of thefts, says park service staff Ranger Greg Lawler. "The trends are up," he says.

It's "a chronic problem that we simply have not even been able to get a grasp on," says Mark Gorman, chief ranger at South Dakota's Badlands National Park.

Park service investigators search websites, and the...