|
August 20, 1969 President Richard Nixon signs the bill that establishes Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument for future generations to study and enjoy! 
William Ryan and Richard Shillinglaw arrive as the first rangers at the new monument.
1971 Victor Lewis is appointed as the Monument’s first superintendent. 
The famous fossil wasp Palaeovespa, which you see on our logo, is found by ranger Henry Tanski.
Mid 1970s F. Martin Brown volunteers his time as a paleontologist until 1993.
1975 The former Henderson Museum is rennovated for use as a ranger station and visitor center. 
The Hornbek Homestead is restored and opened for visitors.
1980s School field trips are now hosted at the Monument.
1987 The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds is founded.
1990s Emmett Evanoff and his students focus their efforts on the Florissant valley, resulting in a modern stratigraphic column of the area’s geology.
1992 F. M. Carpenter publishes a landmark paper, the insect volume of the “Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology”. Many Florissant specimens are listed in this book. 
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument celebrates its 25th anniversary and the passionate women behind the Defenders of Florissant are reunited– Estella Leopold, Bettie Willard, and Vim Wright. 
Dr. Herb Meyer joins the Monument as its first paleontologist. 
A fossil mammoth tooth is discovered by an intern.
1997 The monument’s paleontology internship program sees its first interns.
2000 Paleontologists start a collaboration with a petrified forest in Sexi, Peru, which is still active today. 
The Fossils of Florissant, by Dr. Herb Meyer, is published, bringing together specimens from Florissant that are housed in collections around the world into the same volume.
2008 Continued scientific research is published in a special Geological Society of America paper on the paleontology of the Florissant Formation.
2009 Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument celebrates its 40th anniversary and lawyers and Defenders are reunited. (Estella Leopold, Tom Lamm, Dick Lamm, and Victor Yannacone.) 
A permanent visitor center, museum, and research facility is built and dedicated.
2013 The geologic trail is dedicated and open to the public.
2017 The volunteer program at Florissant Fossil Beds wins the George Hartzog award, the highest honor for a volunteer program in the National Park Service.
2017 A Geology and Paleontology Camp for upper elementary school students is offered for the first time.
2019 34 Million years after the volcano 50 years after the Monument was established 3.4 million visitors later |
Last updated: July 15, 2023