Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee approves rock-art protection bill with clarifying amendments, members raise property-access and funding questions
Summary
The committee considered Senate File 91 to criminalize damage to petroglyphs and pictographs on state land and to fund surveys and documentation. Members asked for clearer language protecting private-property rights and for appropriation details. The committee adopted clarifying language and recorded a roll-call (3 ayes, 2 nos).
The Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Committee reviewed Senate File 91, which would create penalties for injury to rock art on state lands and fund surveys and recordation of petroglyphs and pictographs.
Sarah Sheen, deputy director for State Parks Cultural Resources, summarized the bill's intent: "there are currently no laws in Wyoming that really protect rock art on state land," and the proposal would add penalties for offenses and provide state funding to survey and document rock art on school and institutional lands. She introduced Spencer Pelton, state archaeologist, and Brian Beadles, deputy state historic preservation officer, to answer technical questions.
Pelton said rock art "is one of Wyoming's more phenomenal examples of cultural history" and described documented vandalism, including gun damage and inscriptions. "Once these things are damaged like that, there's really no going back," he said, urging some deterrent against willful destruction.
Committee…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
