Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute

PARTNERING TO PRESERVE AMERICAS OLDEST HERITAGE RESOURCES

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: L23AS00153FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS TEXT: ELEVATION SCIENCE INSTITUTE PROPOSES TO PARTNER WITH THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS AND THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT TO CONDUCT PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF TWO IMPORTANT WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS (WSAS) LOCATED WITHIN THE MISSOURI BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT IN NORTH-CENTRAL MONTANA. THE ANTELOPE CREEK AND WOODHAWK WSAS ARE COVERED BY LATE CRETACEOUS ( 75 MILLION YEARS OLD) ROCKS OF THE JUDITH RIVER FORMATION, AS WELL AS SEVERAL MARINE SHALE FORMATIONS. THESE UNITS HAVE POTENTIAL FOSSIL YIELD CLASSIFICATIONS (PFYC) OF 5 AND 3, RESPECTIVELY. PFYC 5 UNITS ARE HIGHLY FOSSILIFEROUS, CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT FOSSIL RESOURCES, ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADVERSE IMPACTS FROM SURFACE DISTURBANCE, AND ARE FREQUENT TARGETS OF ILLEGAL COLLECTING ACTIVITIES. SIGNIFICANT FOSSIL RESOURCES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THESE WSAS, BUT ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ALONG THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.

IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE ARE REQUESTING FUNDS TO ALLEVIATE A SIGNIFICANT BACKLOG OF JURASSIC-AGE FOSSILS COLLECTED FROM SLM-ADMINISTERED LANDS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL FIELD SEASONS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED PRIMARILY BY HIRING FOSSIL PREPARATORS IN BOTH MONTANA AND AT OUR FOSSIL PREPARATION FACILITY AND REPOSITORY IN CINCINNATI, OH.

BIGHORN BASIN PALEONTOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

IN THIS PROPOSAL, ELEVATION SCIENCE INSTITUTE IS REQUESTING FUNDS TO SUPPORT TWO DIFFERENT BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF OUR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAMMING. FIRST, WE ARE ASKING FOR FUNDS TO HIRE ONE OF TWO SUMMER FIELD INTERNS FOR THE 2024 FIELD SEASON. OUR FIELD INTERNSHIP PROGRAM WAS INAUGURATED IN 2022 AND WAS A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS. BUILDING OFF OF THAT MOMENTUM, WE HAVE ALREADY SELECTED OUR 2023 FIELD INTERNS, AND ARE EXCITED TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A UNIQUE AND EXTREMELY THOROUGH EXPERIENCE, LEARNING NOT JUST THE PRACTICE AND PROCESS OF FIELD PALEONTOLOGY, BUT ALSO HOW TO PLAN AND OPERATE BOTH A RESEARCH AND PUBLIC EXPEDITION, FROM START TO END. THIS INCLUDES BLM PERMITTING, BUDGETING, CLIENT SERVICES, EXTENSIVE AND MULTI-FACETED OUTREACH AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, AND SO MUCH MORE. THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE FIELD PALEONTOLOGY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE. SECONDLY, WE ARE REQUESTING FUNDS TO HELP US PURCHASE A TRAILER, WHICH WILL BE PULLED BY A UTV TO BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY IN 2024. THIS TRAILER WILL BE AN EXTRAORDINARY HELP IN HAULING SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SEASON AS WE SET UP OUR FIELD SITES, AND ESPECIALLY AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SEASONS WHEN IT WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR HAULING IMPORTANT NEW SPECIMENS IN FOSSIL FIELD JACKETS FROM OUR QUARRIES TO OUR VEHICLES. A TRAILER WILL MAKE BOTH OF THESE LABORIOUS AND EXHAUSTING EFFORTS MORE EFFICIENT, MORE SAFE, AND WILL HELP US TO LEAVE A SMALLER IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE. BOTH ASPECTS OF THIS PROJECT ALIGN SEAMLESSLY WITH NUMEROUS BLM, DOI, AND BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION GOALS AND PRIORITIES.