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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Fort Pulaski National Monument
Article 1: Uncovering the Fossil Resources of Fort Pulaski National Monument
A partnership between Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, and the NPS Paleontology Program resulted in the first field based paleontological resource inventory at Fort Pulaski National Monument. The inventory resulted in the documentation of previously unknown fossils and localities within the monument, including some remains of Pleistocene vertebrates. Read more
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Article 2: Burnt Scallops and Fish Fossils on Filmsets: Assessment of the 2018 Woolsey Fire on Paleontological Resources at Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area
The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned substantial portions of Santa Monica National Recreation Area. A post-fire assessment for paleontological resources demonstrated that some fossils were damaged by the fire. This article summarizes some of the findings observed during the post-fire assessment at the recreation area. Read more
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Independence National Historical Park
Article 3: The Peale Museum: America’s First Natural History Museum Features a Mastodon
Few of the millions of visitors to Independence National Historical Park may know that it made history by once displaying a mastodon skeleton in Independence Hall. This skeleton was part of Charles Willson Peale’s museum, which operated out of the building in the early 1800s. It was the first fossil skeleton reassembled in America. Read more
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Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Article 4: Fostering Paleontological Stewardship Through Geologic Mapping in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
New geologic mapping was completed in 2023 at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Two Scientist In Parks (SIP) geology interns were recruited to support this mapping at one of the “crown jewel fossil parks” in the National Park Service. Read more
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Article 5: Preserving the NPS Fossil Record: The NPS Paleontology Program Archiving Project
Through a partnership between the NPS Harpers Ferry Center, the NPS Paleontology Program, and the National Center for Preservation Education, an ambitious data preservation and archiving project is underway. The analog NPS Paleontology Archives are being digitized, professionally archived, and permanently preserved. Read more
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Article 6: Paleontology of Dinosaur Trackway National Natural Landmark
Dinosaur Trackway National Natural Landmark is part of Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum in central Connecticut. It preserves more than 2,000 tracks of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals in 200-million-year-old strata deposited in the basin of a shallow lake. The tracks were discovered in 1966 and quickly protected. Today visitors can see some of them in situ in the exhibit center. Read more
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Article 7: A Georgia State University and National Park Service Collaboration: Fossil Fact Sheets in the Southeast Region
A partnership between Georgia State University and the NPS Paleontology Program has enabled more focused paleontological resource support in parks in the Southeast Region of the U.S. During the past several years students mentored by Dr. Christy Visaggi have helped to complete paleontological resource inventories in several parks in the southeast region uncovering the fossil records of these parks. Read more
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Big Bend National Park
Article 8: Monster Hunters in Big Bend – a Ghost from the Past
Big Bend National Park has a rich history of paleontological field work and fossil collecting. Some of the early fossil collecting at the park was undertaken by the renowned vertebrate paleontologist Barnum Brown from the American Museum of Natural History. A recent discovery at Big Bend National Park provides direct evidence of Brown’s field work. Read more