Men from Nevada are said to have damaged 140 million year old rock formations

Two Nevada men now face charges accusing them of damaging rock formations estimated to be 140 million years old in Lake Mead National Recreation Area in April.

Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, each face federal charges of criminal damage and destruction of government property and aiding and abetting organized crime, the Associated Press reported.

The trial is scheduled for October 8. If convicted, the men face up to ten years in prison each, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Fain and Cosper, both of Henderson, were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and made their initial court appearances Friday. They both pleaded not guilty and were released on bail, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

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Protruding rocks and natural caves formed by erosion and weathering on the Redstone Trail at Lake Mead. (A. Harrison/NPS)

A video posted on social media shows the men pushing boulders until they fall over in front of a screaming little girl on April 7 on the Redstone Dunes Trail.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), the trail is 1.1 miles (1.7 kilometers) round trip. The rocks and caves in the area are the result of erosion and weathering.

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Lake Mead is seen from Sand Island, which is no longer an island as an unprecedented drought causes the Colorado River and Lake Mead to drop to critical water levels on September 18, 2022 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (David McNew/Getty Images)

“Over time, geologic forces transformed the loose dunes into hard sandstone,” the NPS website states.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area just outside Las Vegas attracts around 6 million visitors each year and spans 2,344 square miles of mountains and desert canyons.

Rugged, eroded volcanic basalt near Lake Mead in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Authorities said that due to staffing levels, park officials often rely on the public to monitor resources even within park boundaries.

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The damage caused by the rock formations being pushed over a cliff edge is estimated at over $1,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.