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ACEC Fossil Collection
The BLM’s Safford Field Office
manages three Class I vertebrate paleontology sites, each identified
by the BLM as "At Risk" for their fossil resources.
These are the 111 Ranch Area of Critical Environmental Concern,
the Bear Springs Badlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern,
and the Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area. The two Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern were established because of their important
paleontological resources, and the Hot Well Dunes in places, has
exposures of fossil beds. Field studies conducted by the University
of Arizona in the late 1970s established that the fossils in all
three areas are of late Pliocene age, at or near the beginning
of the Ice Age. Only a few other fossil beds of this age in North
America rival these exposures in terms of the abundance and diversity
of the mammal, reptile, and bird remains found.
Virtually no field studies of these
fossils were conducted for over 20 years. Recently, the BLM’s
Safford Field Office began conducting a physical on-the-ground
inventory of the fossils to improve our understanding of these
resources we manage. The results of the inventory have been remarkable,
causing a stir among scientists throughout the State. The University
of Arizona assisted us with this inventory at first, but they
did not have adequate personnel, laboratory or storage facilities
to properly curate the Bueau's finds.
The Mesa Southwest Museum in Mesa, Arizona (MSM) has recently
become a leader in the State for paleontology. The museum has
a full staff and excellent facilities for the curation and display
of fossils. They became keenly interested in the results of the
BLM's surveys, so the Bureau formed a partnership with them and
their affiliated volunteer organization for paleontology, the
Southwest Paleontological Society (SPS). The SPS has contributed
thousands of volunteer hours since 1999 assisting the Safford
Field Office in the proper collection of the fossils, and the
professional support of the MSM has been instrumental in the success
of this project.
The museum remains excited about this
project, but the collection of over 500 specimens, some quite
large, began straining their resources. Additional “Resources-at-Risk”
funds received from BLM’s Washington Office in fiscal years
2002 and 2003, totaling $13,000, enabled the Bueau to provide
MSM with storage cabinets and trays for housing the BLM collection
in perpetuity. This is a reasonable contribution, especially in
light of the volunteer time BLM receives from the museum and the
SPS, and the outstanding public outreach the museum provides,
primarily by permanently displaying BLM fossils. In addition to
the permanent display, the museum exhibits a temporary display
for about 6 months each year emphasizing BLM's role in the management
of fossils on public lands. The museum also gleans scientific
value from the collected fossils, all of which would be turning
to dust without BLM's inventory and the museum's support.
The curator of paleontology at the
Mesa Southwest Museum, Dr. Robert McCord, is shown below with
a few of the cabinets.
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Dr. McCord said to Geologist
Larry Thrasher of the Safford Field Office:
Here is a photograph "of
some of the Lane collection cabinets thatBLM funding allowed
us to purchase. It is a privilege to act as a repository
for the various state and federal agencies, but most agencies
do
not appreciate the burden placed on us to provide a 'rent
free' environment for these fossils in perpetuity. Although
I appreciate that no agency can really compensate us for
the various overhead costs of maintaining a repository,
the BLM alone seems to appreciate the issue and through
you, we have received the Lane cabinets. My thanks again
for all your support, and for the support of the BLM.…”.
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The BLM has also provided “Resources-at-Risk”
funding to another partner we have for this project, the Graham
County Historical Society (GCHS). With our help, the GHCS has
set up a local display of the BLM fossils, thereby providing a
rare educational opportunity for local residents to see what fossils
are found in their area. Prior to our inventory, virtually all
the local fossils went to the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.,
or the University of Arizona in Tucson, leaving very little for
our local residents to see, and thus the fossils are only poorly
known to the residents. Thanks to these additional funds, we have
now established an outstanding display at the historical society’s
museum in Thatcher. It is proving to be a smash hit among adults
and school-age children alike. The GCHS tells us the fossil display
is now by far the most popular exhibit among the approximately
100 school-age children who tour the museum each week during the
school year.
Rather than describe the exhibit,
here is a little “virtual
tour” of the display.
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