DEVELOPING PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE MONITORING STRATEGIES FOR THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Paleontological resources are non-renewable resources that possess scientific and educational values. Our ability to manage and protect fossils is contingent upon our understanding of their occurrence and distribution, both geologic and geographic, along with the factors that threaten their stability / sustainability. Within the National Park Service, a paleontological resource inventory strategy has been established to compile baseline paleontological resource data. This data can support both scientific and management objectives.

This work represents a first effort to identify and establish the critical elements related to the monitoring of in situ paleontological resources in National Park Service areas. Paleontological resources at or near the surface will inevitably deteriorate over time if unrecognized. The monitoring design involves the identification of those variables that threaten or impact in situ fossils. These include physical, chemical, biological, as well as human factors impacting fossils. Rates of weathering and erosion, climatic conditions, topography, and a wide variety of human related activities are all considered as part of this assessment. A conceptual model has been developed that can be adapted for the monitoring of paleontological resources in the over 150 National Park Service areas identified with fossils.