PALEONTOLOGY, PARTNERSHIPS, AND PARKS: OPPORTUNITIES TO ESTABLISH BASELINE DATA FOR FOSSILS IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

More than 180 National Park Service areas are currently known to preserve fossils. This number continues to increase as paleontological resource inventory and documentation efforts proceed throughout the National Park Service (NPS). The inventory and documentation of these resources continues to be a primary focus of the NPS Paleontology Program. Although many parks have an extensive history of paleontological research, only 14 include mention of fossils in their enabling legislation. Even fewer parks have paleontologists on staff. Through effective utilization of partnerships, the NPS has provided many parks without full time paleontologists the baseline fossil resource information to support science-based resource management, interpretation, and education. There are three main inventory strategies, each with their own objectives: 1) comprehensive park-specific, 2) Servicewide thematic, and 3) Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) Network-based. Comprehensive inventories are field-based, while the others primarily rely on the paleontological literature. Depending on the type of inventory, parks receive products such as narrative reports, GIS data, and recommendations that can be integrated into or form the basis for resource stewardship plans. Partners at parks and working remotely have contributed greatly to the understanding of park paleontological resources and completion of inventories and summaries, while maximizing the available funding. The program's more than three dozen partners have included interns supported by the NPS GeoScientists-in-the-Parks program, GSA GeoCorps program, Association of Women Geoscientists, and Student Conservation Association, as well as volunteers, contractors, graduate students, and direct hires into federal positions (temporary, term, and student positions). The NPS I&M Program has provided funding through Fiscal Year 2009 to complete baseline paleontological resource summaries for the 16 I&M networks where such summaries have not yet been initiated. This presents an exceptional opportunity for interested geology students and professionals to work with the NPS documenting these valuable resources and promoting their effective stewardship. Anyone who is interested in more information should contact the authors.