Protesters could face charges after ATV rally

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has begun an investigation that could lead to charges against nearly 50 people who rode ATVs on an off-limits trail last weekend in Utah to show their displeasure with the federal government. The agency is working to determine who broke the law and what happened Saturday, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Megan Crandall said. A damage assessment is planned of Recapture Canyon, home to dwellings, artifacts and burials left behind by Ancestral Puebloans as many as 2,000 years ago before they mysteriously vanished, she said. The agency warned riders all week to stay out, vowing prosecution against those who ignore a law put in place in 2007 after an illegal trail was found that cuts through the ancestral ruins. The canyon is open to hikers and horseback riders. Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officers were at the protest in plain clothes recording and documenting who was there, said Crandall, who added that the agency remains committed to holding the riders accountable. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City is waiting to see what information the agency sends before commenting on possible charges, spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said...more