Ottawa man faces charges after spray-painting his name on the ...

OTTAWA — An Ottawa man is facing two charges after spray-painting his name in red letters on a prominent, culturally significant, often-photographed rock face in the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona on Monday.According to a United States District Court complaint filed by National Park Service Park Ranger David Robinson, the man admitted that he tossed the used can of spray-paint into the Grand Canyon after a tour leader and other bystanders <a href="http://www.gobizdiscount.com"><strong>GHD Global</strong></a> began yelling at him.Because of their uproar, Lucien Lionel Chenier only made it up to “Luci,” though he said he had intended to write his full name, according to Robinson’s affidavit, which was obtained through the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Flagstaff, Arizona.In the affidavit obtained by The Citizen, Robinson said that National Park Service resource experts he called to the scene told him it would cost about 8,000 to remove the paint, which will have to be done by a restoration team from a high angle with ropes and other safety equipment.Robinson said Chenier told him he was on an RV trip with his wife that started in Ottawa, went up through the Yukon to Alaska, then down through British Columbia and into the U.S. through Washington state.“Chenier acknowledged visiting other national parks, although he wouldn’t name which parks he had been through in the United States,” Robinson said in his affidavit.The affidavit added that Chenier told Robinson he chose the popular Duck on a Rock geological <a href="http://www.gobizdiscount.com"><strong>shoess</strong></a> formation because “it was so special that if he left his name, then his kids would be able to see it 20 years from now.”The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. The Duck on a Rock feature is located along the South Rim of the canyon, between Grandview and Yaki points. It’s culturally significant to the park because the overlook is one of the original features of East Rim Drive and was one of the first carriage tour stops in the 1930s on the route from Grand Canyon Village to Desert View.Chenier has been charged with damaging United States property in excess of 1,000 and littering.knease@ottawacitizen.comtwitter.com/kristynease