Rescuing the treasure trove of newly discovered tracks has become an urgent priority for a team of professionals and amateurs. Lake Powell has begun making its annual upward rise, fueled by melting snow in three states. In recent weeks the lake has been rising about 6 inches a day, and it's expected to peak this summer about 50 feet higher than it started the year.

"There's so many tracks, so little time," Lockley said.

Lockley and his team are now scrambling to document the tracks as quickly as they can. They're photographing, measuring, making molds, even taking tracks back to civilization if they're on rocks small enough to carry out.

The team has asked news reporters to keep secret the exact locations of the discovery sites. But they say one of their goals is to create a museum at Bullfrog on Lake Powell to display the best of what they've found.

The team has a permit from the National Park Service to carry out whatever they can. But many footprints are on big slabs, so they need outside help.

"Money and resources," Delgalvis said. "And by resources I mean heavy equipment and people who know how to operate heavy equipment."

Experts have widely varying opinions about the future of Lake Powell. Some say the lake will never fill again. Others say it will refill in a few years after the region recovers from a half-decade of drought.

Delgalvis worries his discoveries will disappear under the lake for a long time. Leaning against a track-covered slab that's far too big to carry out, he said, "I don't think that in our lifetime we're ever going to see it this low again."