Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022

All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. Park Paleontology news provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources.

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• Celebrate National Fossil Day with events across the nation

• Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

  Article 1: Paleontology of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

  

  Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument preserves rocks and fossils from much of the first half of the Paleozoic Era, approximately 540 to 400 million years ago, when what is now the east coast of North America was growing with additions of small continental fragments. Fossils have been occasionally reported from the monument by scientists in the past, but this is the first time that a thorough inventory has been made of the monument’s fossils. Read more

• Article 2: Fossil Inventories Uncover Permian Sharks in Western National Parks

  

  A recent survey of the National Park Service shows records of shark fossils from at least 46 units across the United States. Recent field work in Permian rocks at Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park shows a much greater diversity of sharks than previously known, and also illustrates connections. Read more

• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

  Article 3: Thirty-five-years of partnership: How the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service Co-manage Paleontological Resources in Eastern and Central Oregon

  

  A successful partnership between the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management has helped enhance fossil stewardship in the John Day Basin, Oregon. This partnership spans 35 years and serves as a model of interagency cooperation to support paleontology. Read more

• Article 4: Centennial Commemoration for the Creation of Fossil Cycad National Monument

  

  The 100th anniversary for the establishment of Fossil Cycad National Monument occurs during October 2022. The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and various partners in South Dakota will commemorate the Centennial of Fossil Cycad National Monument at a National Fossil Day event hosted on October 12, 2022 at South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota. Read more

• Article 5: Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests

  

  In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units. Read more

• Article 6: From Sea to Shining Sea: "Fossils from Your Public Lands" at the Western Science Center

  

  The Western Science Center in Hemet, California serves as a repository for fossils from several land management agencies. It is currently running an exhibit, “Fossils from Your Public Lands”, to showcase examples of these fossils with the cooperation of additional parks and repositories. Read more