Published: Saturday, August 4, 2012 1:08 AM CDT

Items that lie in the mud of the Missouri National Recreational River are items that are important artifacts to study the past and should not be tampered with or taken, according to officials.

Officials from the National Park Service gave a presentation to patrons at the Dakota Territorial Museum on Friday about people stealing valuable cultural resources from the Missouri National Recreational River.

On May 9, the U.S. Army Corps lowered the water levels in the river in order to check on the flood damages from 2011. During these low water levels, many artifacts and objects were taken our of the river.

Chris Wilkinson, chief of Interpretation and Education at the Park Service, and Justin Work, Seasonal Ranger, gave the talk. They noted that cultural resources are material evidence of past human activities. Examples of these can be districts, sites, objects, buildings, materials and so on. They also are very important to help study the past.

“Cultural resources can help us learn the history and environment other than just reading about it in books,” Work said. “With these resources in place, we can actually see, touch and feel history.”

Among the resources taken out of the river during the low water levels in May included bison bones. There were a large number of bison that lived in the area up until the mid-19th century. Bison skulls were the main object taken during the Gavins Point low water period this spring. Prices for the bones and skulls can range anywhere between $40 and $300 on eBay.

In addition to the bison bones, there are many steamboat wrecks in the Missouri National Recreational River. Work noted that there were hundreds of wrecks during the 19th century on the river and the remains can contain many artifacts including the wreck itself, freight and passengers’ personal items.

Work said that other parks across the country are dealing with the same problems.

He said that Civil War artifacts at sites like Gettysburg suffer from resource removal. He added that fossils have been taken from Badlands National Park and artifacts have been taken from Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Work noted that people have even attempted to steal elk antlers and a mule deer fawn at Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, but were luckily caught.

He made the startling example of Fossil Cycad National Monument in South Dakota. There were a large number of fossilized cycads found near the Hot Springs in the Black Hills, and the site became a national monument in 1922 because of its historical significance. However, because vandals stole or destroyed all of the visible fossils. The area’s park designation was wthdrawn in 1957.

Work gave several reasons of why citizens should care about preserving cultural resources in the area.

He noted that if humans take all of the resources, there would not be much that we can learn from past societies.

“Children in the future could grow up caring less about history and the environment without cultural resources,” he added. “We want the resources to last, but they can’t last if they’re not here.”

Work said there are several ways for citizens to help preserve cultural resources.

He said that when patrons visit national parks and use the resources there, you should leave the artifacts there and not take or damage it. In addition, if someone is disturbing a resource, Work encourages you to tell them to stop or call the Park Rangers on duty.

“We want to create a better understanding of the resources and how to preserve them,” he said. “This will help us get the word out more.”

Wilkinson noted that officials do not think the drought is playing a factor in the stealing of cultural resources on the river this season.