title:  Armed Men Break Into Protected Wildlife Area, Kill Rarest Fish On Earth (VIDEO)
text: The Nye County Sheriff s Office just arrested three men who went on a drunken rampage through a protected area of Death Valley National Park in Nevada.On April 30, Steven Schwinkendorf, 29, Edgar Reyes, 35, and Trenton Sargent, 26 used a gun to shoot off gate locks meant to prevent entry into the protected area surrounding the Devils Hole geothermal pool.The Death Valley pool is the only known habitat for the rarest species of fish in the world, the Devils Hole pupfish.According to authorities, once inside the protected area the men fired the gun several more times, shooting out motion sensors and damaging sensitive scientific equipment.One of them urinated on the ground, while another decided to use the protected spot as a place to vomit.According to a statement released by the Nye County Sheriff s Office:Their unlawful visit ultimately culminated with at least one of the suspects stripping off their clothes and entering the water of Devils Hole. The suspect(s) in the water stomped around the shelf area of the critical ecosystem before swimming around the deeper water, leaving behind a pair of dirty underwear when finished.The statement goes on to say:The intrusion is believed to have resulted in the death of at least one endangered Devils Hole pupfish, and fisheries biologists are trying to ascertain the extended damage that may have been done to food sources and egg sites which could lead to more loss of a species whose numbers are now below the last count of 115 in existence.Security cameras captured footage of the rampage. The Center for Biological Diversity and the National Park Service offered a $15,000 reward for the capture of the three men, saying their actions constituted a crime against the shared natural heritage of all Americans.Now that they ve been identified and arrested, the men face up to a year in prison and fines of up to $50,000 each.Here s more on this story via Newsy on YouTube:Image credit: Video screen capture via Newsy on YouTube