April 11, 2013, 7:34 p.m. ET
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Outbreak of Graffiti Defaces a Beauty Spot
By TAMARA AUDI
For years, millions of visitors drawn to the peculiar beauty of Joshua Tree National Park have stayed on the straight and narrow while hiking the steep and twisty trails: picking up their trash and heeding authorities' pleas to leave the park's granite monoliths and blooming desert floor unmolested.
But in recent months the park has been hit with an unusual scourge of graffiti. This week, the escalating problem prompted park rangers to close a large area of the attraction because of widespread graffiti found in a popular canyon. That came on the heels of the closure of another part of the park after it also had been defaced. More than 300 acres are shut to visitors while officials investigate.
"People are appalled and people are wondering how it could happen here, in a national park," said Pat Pilcher, a ranger at Joshua Tree.
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