A St. George man convicted in 1992 of digging up ancient Indian ruins on public lands in Garfield County has been pardoned by President George W. Bush.

David Lane Woolsey is among 19 people being pardoned for various crimes as the president prepares to leave office. Woolsey was convicted of an aiding and abetting violation of the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act and sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service.

"It feels pretty great," Woolsey said in an interview with the Deseret News on Tuesday night from an oil rig in Wyoming, where he is working. "I didn't even expect it. I don't know what got him (the president) to do it."

Woolsey's wife, Nadine, said they sought the pardon about 2 1/2 years ago, filling out an application for clemency on the Internet.

"We had no connections. We're not rich," she said.

Woolsey said he wanted the pardon so he could get his gun rights back and go hunting with his son. A federal felony conviction strips a person of his or her right to possess a weapon or vote.

"I've been looking for jobs, and I think you get discriminated against," he said. "I felt like I was left out, and I get my civil rights back."

According to Deseret News reports from the time, Woolsey and co-defendant Jimmy G. Barney were seen by hikers back in 1991 digging in an ancient Indian ruin at Boulder Creek near Escalante. Both men ultimately pleaded guilty. Federal prosecutors sought to send a "significant message" about a trend of archaeological site vandalisms. The prosecutions came at a time when authorities were cracking down on archaeological thefts, Woolsey's former attorney, Ed Brass, said. The penalty could have been two years in prison, but U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Greene settled on probation and community service.

"I know I done wrong," Woolsey said. "But I feel grateful I got a second chance."

Unless granted clemency from the president, a federal felony conviction stays with a person his or her entire life.

"It's extremely unusual," Brass said of the presidential pardon. "I've been a lawyer 31-plus years, and this is the first person I've represented that's received a presidential pardon."

Among the others pardoned by the president is Charles Winters, who helped ship arms and aircraft to Jews trying to establish their own state in the Middle East back in the 1940s. Winters died in Florida in the 1980s.

Others pardoned include:

• William Thomas Alvis III, of Flushing, Ohio, convicted of possession of an unregistered firearm and cocaine distribution.