INTERAGENCY MANAGEMENT OF GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT PALEONTOLOGICAL LOCALITIES

Stewardship, research, and preservation of paleontological resources have historically been hampered by the locations of outcrop on lands administered by a variety of different land management agencies or other boundaries. Interagency and international agreements specifically tailored for the appropriate protection, study, and curation of globally signficant localities helps to mitigate bureaucratic inertia and facilitate dynamic research partnerships. The public is well-served when boundaries, such as those established for National Park Service sites or Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, are carefully evaluated by knowledgeable scientists. Cooperative programs of regular surveys and collection against a documented spatiotemporal framework, such as can be established by measured sections and locality databases, further develop a comprehensive management strategy.