FOSSIL YIELD POTENTIAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST, SOUTHEAST ALASKA, USING DATABASES, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS), AND REMOTE SENSING

The Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is the largest national forest in the United States and covers 17 million acres including multiple fossiliferous units that have produced important vertebrate fossils such as Upper Triassic thalattosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Significant invertebrate localities have been identified as well. These fossil localities are dispersed and difficult to access. This, along with the recent passing of the “Public Law 111-11, Subtitle D-Paleontological Resources Preservation” creates a need for a technique that assesses the density and potential fossil yield in a given area prior to sending researchers into the field. Fossil locality discovery has traditionally resulted from guesswork and from extensive field surveys. The recent increase in the availability of remotely-sensed imagery, utility of geographic information systems (GIS), and expansion of Alaska’s paleontological database enabled us to address the challenge of fossil site identification within the Tongass NF. We have analyzed the coordinate data for the fossil localities within the Tongass in order to create fossil density maps as well as a “Fossil Yield Potential Classification” for the various geologic units of the Tongass NF. We have created the classification system using the Alaska Paleontology Database (www.alaskafossil.org), ArcGIS, and remote sensing data. The final map illustrates the fossil yield potential for the various geologic units within the Tongass NF and indicates which type of paleontological resources being protected. The creation of the “Fossil Yield Potential Classification” allows for the further development of inventory and monitoring programs for the areas within the Tongass with “high fossil yield potential.” This research also encourages an emphasis on continued development and maintenance of a paleontological resource program for the Tongass National Forest of Southeast Alaska.