National Fossil Day 2011

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Railroad Valley Oil Well, Battle Mountain NV

National Fossil Day



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Celebrate National Fossil Day 2011: Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

“The trackways at the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument rewrote scientific understanding of Permian footprints. They represent an instant in time almost 300 million years ago, and you can look at it and understand how animals were behaving.”

Dr. Spencer Lucas
Curator of Paleontology
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

Scenic view of PTNM

In the mid-1980s Jerry MacDonald, an amateur paleontologist, brought national recognition to the Robledo Mountains when he found long, intact fossilized trackways. These trackways belong to the Permian Period (280-240 million years ago) tens of millions of years before the dinosaurs. The Permian Period was at the end of the Paleozoic Era (circa 550 -240 million years ago).

Jerry MacDonald

Under the supervision of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, MacDonald excavated thousands of these trackways from what is now known as the Discovery Site. The majority of the over 2500 slabs removed in the excavation comprises “The Jerry MacDonald Paleozoic Trackways Collection” at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Learn More >>

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National Fossil Day - A celebration of Prehistoric life

The Bureau of Land Management is partnering with the National Park Service (NPS) , the American Geological Institute (AGI) , and other Federal and state agencies, associations, and organizations to hold the second annual National Fossil Day on October 12, 2011

Visit Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

Trackways Photo
The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument was established in 2009 to conserve, protect, and enhance the unique and nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational, scenic, and recreational resources and values of the Robledo Mountains in southern New Mexico. The Monument includes a major deposit of Paleozoic Era fossilized footprint megatrackways within approximately 5,280 acres.

Fees
None.
Season/Hours
Generally Open year-round.
Recreation Guidelines
• BLM Recreation Guidelines
Special Rules
• Motorized travel only on designated roads and trails.

Maps
• Location Map
• See Contact Information below to obtain maps or visit the Public Lands Information Center.
Contact Information
Las Cruces District Office
1800 Marquess Street
Las Cruces, NM 88005-3370
575.525.4300