A group of people standing behind a red railing overlooking a dinosaur skeleton in a museum.

Paleontology Stories

Explore awe-inspiring glimpses into Earth's past through stories that originate from discoveries on Bureau of Land Management lands. To search for a story by keyword or state, visit Our Stories. For reports, brochures, and maps related to paleontology, visit the Public Room.

Fossil finds, scientific discoveries, and more

Wyoming, High Desert DO, Pinedale FO
Kids handle fossils at a story time event in Pinedale WY with BLM staff member

Dino-Mite Story Time in Pinedale

On a June morning at the Sublette County Public Library in Pinedale, Wyoming, about 150 kids settled in for story time. What they did not know was that the story that day would reach back millions of years into prehistoric time.
Montana-Dakotas, Eastern Montana/Dakotas DO, Miles City FO
Curator of Paleontology John Scanella, Paleontology Lab and Field Manager Lee Hall, and Senior Director of Exhibitions and Planetarium Scott Williams discuss tooth gouges on an Edmontosaurus skull on display at the Museum of the Rockies Hall of Horns and Teeth. The gentlemen were on hand to crack open the display case for some close up photography on a recent visit by the DOI/BLM.

Snapped enamel and crushed bone: A Moment Frozen in Time

Discovered in 2005 in the fossil-rich Hell Creek Formation on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management’s Miles City Field Office, the skull was remarkably complete.
Wyoming, High Desert DO, Rock Springs FO
Touren Pope poses for a photo with the fossilized turtle he discovered on BLM with a blue sky

11-year-old Touren Pope discovers ancient turtle fossil on BLM land in Wyoming

Last fall, a routine day of rockhounding on Bureau of Land Management–managed public land in southwest Wyoming turned into an extraordinary discovery. While exploring public lands overseen by the BLM Wyoming Rock Springs Field Office, 11-year-old Touren Pope spotted what would later be identified as a fossilized turtle dating back nearly 48 million years.
Montana-Dakotas, Eastern Montana/Dakotas DO, North Dakota FO
Two men and three boys in baseball caps pose in front of a table holding a model T. rex skull.

BLM T. rex featured at Smithsonian Event

T. rex discovered on BLM land in North Dakota plays role in new film.
Eastern Montana/Dakotas DO, Billings FO
Man in blue hat crouches over partially revealed dinosaur bone in the ground

Mother’s Day Site helps unlock ancient mysteries while asking more questions

Over the last 30 years, the Mother's Day site in southern Montana has produced more than 2,600 specimens including the most complete juvenial sauropod skull ever found.
Montana-Dakotas
Cami (left) and Greg (right) pause to look at an outcrop of Greenhorn Limestone in central Kansas around 1990.

Greg and Cami: A Tale of Two Geologists

Greg and Cami: A Tale of Two Geologists
Montana-Dakotas
Man in black shirt holds young girl who holds a small stuff wooly mammoth

Dinosaurs and MOR!

Mor
Utah
JWP Memorial Museum 8-21-23 display poster part 1

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Dinosaur Exhibits Now on Display

By David Hercher, Paria River District, Utah
Utah
Small fossilized dinosaur egg.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument continues to demonstrate its scientific significance: Research published on tiny dinosaur eggs found in Kaiparowits Formation

Imagine, for a moment, scorching heat, sand, and wind whipping across the desert
Oregon-Washington, Prineville DO
A man kneeling down and using a tool to pick at a white rock.

Heritage Heroes preserve record of the Age of Mammals from 50 million years ago

The BLM is pleased to announce the newest winners of the “Heritage Heroes Awards” for their significant support of cultural heritage, history, paleontological resources, museum collections programs, or Tribal consultation within the scope of BLM’s Cultural Heritage Program.
Montana-Dakotas
Lower jaw of a dinosaur fossilized in rock Text: New Species of Tyrannosaur Hints at Ancestor of T. Rex

New Species of Tyrannosaur Hints at Ancestor of T. rex

Montana-Dakotas
A person holds a pointy tyrannosaur fossil of teeth in their hand.

Exploring the BLM’s policy on the public release of paleontology locality data

Story by Greg Liggett, Paleontologist, Montana/Dakotas State Office.
Montana-Dakotas
Two people digging in the dirt looking for fossils. Text: New modules launched in BLM online permitting system.

New modules launched in BLM online permitting system

Story by Andrew Smith, Cartographic Technician, Montana/Dakotas State Office 
Eastern Montana/Dakotas DO
Display shows photos of Andrew Parisi and has a written tribute to him.

BLM Fossil Display is a Tribute to Researcher

Story by Greg Liggett, Paleontologist, Montana/Dakotas State Office
Kanab FO
Volunteers from the Natural History Museum of Utah work at the T2 Tyrannosaur excavation site

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument nets important dinosaur discovery

Story by David Hercher, Paria River District Public Affairs. Photos courtesy of Dr. Randy Irmis, Natural History Museum of Utah Chief Curator.
Montana-Dakotas
Rock formation overlooking the plains. Text reads First Peoples Buffalo Jump artifacts come to Billings Curation Center

First Peoples Buffalo Jump artifacts come to the Billings Curation Center

Story by David K. Wade, Museum Curator, Montana/Dakotas State Office 
Montana-Dakotas
Life reconstruction of juvenile Diplodocus from the Mother’s Day Quarry with adults. Note how the shape of the snout in the juvenile is pointed compared to the flat shape of the adult. Evidence that they were feeding differently.

The Mother’s Day Quarry Keeps Giving

Story by: Greg Liggett, Paleontologist, Montana/Dakotas State Office
Montana-Dakotas

PFYC: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Paleontology

Story by: Andrew Smith, Cartographic Tech; and Greg Liggett, Paleontologist; Montana/Dakotas State Office
Alaska, Arctic DO
Bison skull and bones on a tarp

Reading the bones: a 43,000-year-old mystery is answering some questions and prompting researchers to ask others

Paddling down a river in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in summer 2012, the weather was still chilly.
Utah
A fossilized dinosaur skull and partial skeleton are displayed on a table draped with a Natural History Museum of Utah cloth, set within a museum exhibit featuring additional dinosaur fossils and interpretive signs.

Fossils from BLM lands help confirm a new species of Allosaur

On Friday, January 24, the BLM participated in the Natural History Museum of Utah's unveiling of Allosaurus jimmadseni, a new species of Allosaur.