Whoever is spray painting large hearts in some of Sedona’s most remote and pristine outdoor wilderness areas may soon be spending all their time indoors, behind bars.

So far, 21 defacements have been found and 20 cleaned up, according to Connie Birkland, public information officer for the forest.

“This is a selfish act,” Birkland said. “It’s equivalent to littering and carving your name on a tree.”

All except two hearts are located on forest land surrounding Sedona; the other two are in remote locations above Flagstaff.

Each has the initials LTTL inside the heart.

Felony defacement of federal property includes fines up to $250,000 and a prison term of up to 10 years.

In addition to ruining the view for others, the vandal is making a lot of work for a local group that’s donated its time to clean up the markings.

Even more serious is that the clean-up crews are putting themselves at risk in these efforts since reaching each site requires a significant hike and some sites can be reached only by swimming and rock scrambling.

Once there, removing the hearts is time consuming and difficult.

Each project typically takes six or seven people seven hours to hike in, scrub the area with wire brushes and hike out.

To date, well over 1,000 hours have been spent in clean-up activities, including pretesting cleaning methods to find which works best.

Considering the costs involved in the cleanup, in terms of time spent and materials, the acts qualify as felonies, according to Jon Nelson, law enforcement officer for the Coconino National Forest.

Nelson encouraged anyone who has information on the vandalism to call the Silent Witness Program at (800) 932-3232.

All information is kept confidential and can be made anonymously.

Jennifer Burns, recreation staff officer for the Red Rock Ranger District, asked the public to report any graffiti they see on the wilderness whether it is a heart or otherwise, accompanied by a photograph, a description of the location and, if possible, GPS coordinates.

“We need the public’s help to find out who’s doing this,” Burns said. “I want it to stop.”

Five of the hearts were discovered high above Wet Beaver Creek, where the perpetrator had to swim and scramble to reach the site.

Others were found on Vultee Arch, in Pumphouse Wash and on a pinnacle on Wilson Mountain.

“People are inspired by the beauty of Red Rock Country,” Burns said. “It’s sad when you find this beauty marred by someone who went before you. I appeal to the person responsible to respect others who want to experience nature unchanged by others.”

According to documents filed by the United States Department of Justice, in a similar case last year three men were arrested following their indictment by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of federal property after they were caught spray painting rocks, trees and trail markers in the Mount Rose Wilderness Area of Nevada.

The men were charged with willfully injuring or committing depredation against property of the United States.

The indictment stated that the resulting damage to federal property was in excess of $1,000 and the defendants were subject to fines of $250,000 and a prison term up to 10 years.

The Silent Witness Program can be reached at (800) 932-3232.

Susan Johnson can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 129, or e-mail sjohnson@larsonnewspapers.com