Plague has been found in prairie dog populations in Teller County. Due to the high rodent population around the Hornbek Homestead at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, this area is currently closed. However, the rest of the park remains open.
Please remember not to feed any wildlife, both for your health and theirs. For more information on health and safety at the park, call 719-748-3253.
Photo: Wing-Chi Poon (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License)
At the 20th Anniversary Celebration in August, the Friends announced a new partnership with the Asociación de la Preservación y Defensa de los Restos Paleontológicos del Distrito de Sexi (Association for Preservation and Defense of the Paleontological Remains of the District of Sexi; SEXI). SEXI is a grassroots organization devoted to protecting and developing for tourism and research the petrified forest of Piedra Chamana, located near the village of Sexi, Peru.
Piedra Chamana preserves a diverse assemblage of 39-million-year-old woods and leaves from the middle Eocene, and has important implications for understanding the paleoclimate and history of low-latitude tropical forests. The fossil forest is also important as a scientific and educational resource for the people of the region.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument paleontologist Dr. Herb Meyer and colleagues, including Dr. Deborah Woodcock of Clark University, have been providing assistance to the village of Sexi in setting up a program to monitor the fossil forest. Through a National Science Foundation grant, they were able to help arrange construction of a museum, and the National Park Service is currently assisting in exhibit design and brochure production.
The Friends hope to raise funds for SEXI that will be used for interpretive exhibits and posters, construction of a fence around the perimeter of Piedra Chamana to protect it from cattle and human impact, construction of a trail to the site. In addition, the Friends can offer information and guidance to SEXI on operating a park Friends group.
The Memorandum of Understanding will take effect upon the signature of the presidents of both organizations. It is currently being reviewed in Lima. The Friends hope this partnership will help enhance scientific knowledge, education, and conservation of this important fossil resource.
Friends President Steve Veatch presented further information about this partnership at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in October. To learn more about this partnership, you can contact him at sveatch@fossilbeds.org.
-Melissa Barton
Photo Credits: Dr. Herb Meyer
Learn more about Sexi and Piedra Chamana at Bienvenidos a Sexi (Spanish).
A publication date has been set for the Geological Society of America Special Paper on Florissant, a collection of papers about scientific research, education, and resource management at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The volume is edited by park paleontologist Dr. Herbert W. Meyer and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History professor and curator of invertebrate paleontology and paleobotany Dr. Dena M. Smith. Both editors have conducted research in the Florissant Formation.
The volume is scheduled to be available from the GSA Bookstore in December 2007.
Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado
edited by Herbert W. Meyer and Dena M. Smith
ISBN 978-0-8137-2435-5
December 2007
Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado includes papers authored by former staff and interns, NPS employees, and Friends President Steven W. Veatch. This volume will be an important addition to the body of literature about the Florissant Formation and its history and management as well as paleontological significance.
Update: This book is now scheduled to be released in February 2008.
To reduce hazardous fuels on the northern boundary of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument that have the potential to spread wildfire onto private property, the park will be conducting a prescribed burn. The burn will take place north of Upper Twin Rock Road and east of Teller Co. Rd. #1, south of the cemetary and llama farms. Burning will begin October 15th, weather permitting, and may continue for several days.
To see a map of the area designated for burning, download the fire plan PDF. To learn more about the burn, download the park’s press release in PDF format. If you have questions, contact the park at (719) 748-3253.
The Colorado Springs Gazette’s R. Scott Rappold wrote an article about Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument’s need for a new Visitor Center–read it in the September 4 Gazette.
One important point not covered in the article is that a new Visitor Center with a larger collections area will also give the park’s paleontology division room for expanding the collections and research program. This will benefit the public by providing new specimens to be displayed. New research will also support education programs and exhibits.
Note: The Cenozoic Era does span 65 million years ago to the present, so the buildings and fossils are both Cenozoic.
-Melissa Barton
The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Friends of the Park group supporting Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in its mission to protect and interpret the park's resources for future generations.
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