PALEONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH AT PUBLIC BLM FOSSIL SITES IN WYOMING AND UTAH

In 2009, the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act was enacted, instructing the Secretary to manage and protect paleontological resources on Federal Land using scientific principles and expertise, and to develop plans to increase public awareness about the significance of paleontological resources. Many rural communities throughout the country remain underserved due to lack of resources to support actual visits to fossil sites. In response, short educational videos, lesson plans, educational trunks, tours, and onsite activities (that teach site stewardship and the scientific process) have been developed for the K-college age audience. These are used in the classroom as well as to support exploratory, place-based learning experiences (i.e. outside laboratories) at Bureau of Land Management (BLM) fossil sites in Wyoming and Utah.

The Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite (RGDT) in Wyoming, Moccasin Mountain Tracksite (MMT) and Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite (MCDT) in Utah, are some of the best examples of sites that have been studied and developed with education of the general public in mind. Once these sites were thoroughly documented, they were developed for more formal site visitation (e.g., creation of boardwalks, trails, interpretive signs, shade structures, and other amenities). BLM partnered with “Hands on the Land,” researchers, and friends groups to develop educational activities and provide them to teachers. The exercises developed are designed to promote the importance of stewardship toward the natural world by presenting the benefits of preservation, for current and future generations to have a better scientific understanding of past and present environments and ecosystems. Scientific observation and interpretation techniques are illustrated and students can do their own discovery, measuring, and mapping of tracks to come up with their stories of the tracksites. The physical lesson plans and activities that have been developed are for use both onsite and in the classroom, while the videos can be viewed both at these public fossil sites and online. New activities and information continue to be developed, as new information becomes available. Current projects include the development of additional videos and Junior Rangers books, which can be used by teachers locally, as well as nationwide.