| Contacts: | Denise Adamic, BLM Front Range District (719) 269-8553 |
National Fossil Day celebration comes to Fremont County (10-10-12)
CAÑON CITY, Colo. – Beginning Oct. 14, the public is invited to join the Bureau of Land Management in enjoying National Fossil Day during a week-long celebration of fossils and their scientific and educational importance. The BLM is partnering with the Dinosaur Depot Museum, Fremont County Heritage Commission, Royal Gorge Regional History Center and Museum, and the Price Pioneer Museum to provide a series of community events in Cañon City and Florence, Colo.
Local geologists, paleontologists, historians and scientists will host National Fossil Day activities Sunday, Oct.14 through Sunday, Oct. 21. Events include:
• “Landscapes, geology, and the historic Garden Park School.” This discussion focuses on the local history and geology of Garden Park.
• “Historic Downtown Cañon City.” A walking tour that will highlight famous dinosaur hunters Marshall and Amanda Felch and Oramel Lucas who frequented the area during the late 1800s.
• “Dinosaur Depot Museum Tours.” Fee-free day with children’s activities.
• “Skyline Drive Tour.” Visit real dinosaur tracks while learning about local geology and mining.
• “Dall DeWeese Presentation.” Learn about dinosaur excavations near the Garden Park Fossil Area in 1915 and 1916.
• “Indian Springs Trace Fossil Area.” Take a nature walk to see fossils left behind by ancient animals more than 460 million years ago.
• “Florence Oil Wells and Coal Mines.” A presentation about the early gold mills, railroads, coal mines and historic oil fields near the city of Florence.
All of the events are free to the public, and there is no need to register in advance. For more information or a complete agenda of the week’s events, visit the Dinosaur Depot Museum website at www.dinosaurdepot.com or call the museum at 719-269-7150.
Many of the week’s festivities will feature historic links to the BLM-managed Garden Park Fossil Area, just north of Cañon City. The area is one of the most productive and historically important landscapes in the western United States for understanding late Jurassic-period dinosaurs.
National Fossil Day began in 2010 as part of the international Earth Science Week. This is the second year that the BLM has participated locally in National Fossil Day.
The detailed agenda can be found here: Agenda
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
3028 E. Main Street Canon City, CO 81212