Police have identified the three men who trespassed and vandalized the Devils Hole unit of Death Valley National Park, and say they face a range of felony charges.

Three men videotaped trespassing at the Devils Hole unit of Death Valley National Park face a range of felony charges, from killing an endangered species and destruction of property to being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

The Nye County (Nevada) Sheriff's Office identified the three as Steven Schwinkendorf, 29, of Pahrump, Nev.; Edgar Reyes, 35, of North Las Vegas, Nev.; and Trenton Sargent, 26, of Indian Springs, Nev. All three have been interviewed by police for their actions at Devils Hole on April 30.

According to the sheriff's office, after National Park Service agents contacted the Scorpion Task Force a "subsequent investigation led to the collection of evidence, including DNA, along with video surveillance. The surveillance footage was viewed, and Sergeant Klenczar of the Nye County Sheriff's Office was able to investigate and locate the off-road vehicle seen in the video. The vehicle's owner was identified as Schwinkendorf, and detectives from both agencies made contact with Schwinkendorf for an interview, during which more information was obtained."

When Reyes was contacted by officers, he acknowledged that he was one of the three men in the video, and directed further questions to his attorney, the sheriff's office said. Sargent also was interviewed by the officers.

"Based on the investigation of the crime scene and the interviews with the suspects, investigators determined the threesome had been drinking and out shooting rabbits when they came to Devil's Hole," the sheriff's office report said. "They jumped the fence of the clearly marked protected area, and in the course of their unlawful visit destroyed an electronic sensor by shooting it with a shotgun, damaged two surveillance cameras, and rammed and shot two gates causing damage. 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 Devils Hole pupfish is something of an aquatic wonder, managing to live in a relatively small hot spring, one that denies them the ability to migrate up or down stream. Rather, they congregate in the spring, rising up to a small shelf of rock just beneath the water's surface both to feed and breed. While 40 acres around the spring, which isn't actually within the formal borders of Death Valley National Park but rather off to the east, were set aside in 1952 to protect the hot spring and its inhabitants, a fight over groundwater led to a 1976 Supreme Court ruling that the Park Service was entitled to a specific water right to maintain the hot spring for the fish.

Devils Hole pupfish populations numbered about 400-500 individuals until the late 1960s, when the water level in the pool dropped in response to pumping of nearby irrigation wells, according to the USGS.

Sheriff's investigators said the overall cost of the damage was still being calculated, but that the overall loss will make the crime a felony.

"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 who's numbers are now below the last count of 115 in existence," the sheriff's department noted.

"Other charges including trespassing, damage to habitat, and conspiracy will be added. Additionally, it is believed that at least one of the suspects is a convicted felon, making it illegal to possess or be in involvement with others possessing a gun."

This is a shot of the warm springs at Devils Hole/NPS