My Public Lands
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560 posts tagged science
The award-winning BLM General Land Office
Congrats to Daniel Fleming, Branch Chief of the General Land Office for winning the “Geospatial Integration Award” at this year’s 2019 Geospatial Integration Contest. Daniel submitted the “General Land Office Record of the Week: A General Land Office Story Map” for consideration, which is a weekly map that features unique records from the General Land Office, such as stories about Voyageurs National Park, the Middle Island Lighthouse, the Lewis and Clark Caverns and many more weekly stories.
In addition, Daniel’s efforts were also recognized by Jack Dangermond, ESRI President, at the 2019 annual ESRI User Conference.
Most recently, the GLO team represented the BLM at the 37th annual Afro-American Genealogical & Historical Society Conference in Chicago, October 11-12, where they engaged with teachers, archivists, historians, geologists and other interested members of the public.
Since the establishment of the GLO in 1812, the office has provided consistent and accurate information about our nation’s history by maintaining priceless documents that aid in researching genealogy, resource ownership, use rights, and inform the historical context of BLM-managed lands. Within its collection of over 12 million records, GLO tells the story of the westward expansion of America and the citizens that made that journey over 200+ years.
Read more: https://arcg.is/101uzf
Tattoo Artifact Found in Southern Utah
Tattooing tool from southern Utah pushes back the first known evidence of tattooing in the region by 1000 years
Occasionally, researchers find something unexpected on public lands that fosters curiosity and national interest, such as a new discovery from Grand Gulch in southeastern Utah. A recently-identified tattooing tool is changing our understanding of the history and presence of tattooing in North America. Dating back to the Basketmaker II period, it is the oldest-known tattooing tool found in western North America and provides a more in-depth understanding of identity and social structures in the region. Researchers found that the tool was most likely used sometime between the years 79–130 in the Common Era, making it nearly 2,000 years old!
While the artifact was recovered from the area in the 1970’s, it was unidentified until Andrew Gillreath-Brown, a graduate student at Washington State University, rediscovered it while working with some of the university’s collections. It piqued his interest due to its unusual shape and structure. He followed his curiosity down a path of research and investigation, leading to more discoveries and increasing our knowledge of social markers on the skin and how they may have helped form group identity for the people living in the area during this period.
This artifact was excavated under a federal permit from a midden, or refuse pile, on BLM-managed lands in San Juan County, Utah at a cultural site in Grand Gulch, known as the “Turkey Pen site”. The site is named for the holding pen in which turkeys were raised, and still exists because visitors are careful to Respect and Protect these cultural resources when visiting the site. The tattooing tool is made out of a sumac stem, prickly pear cactus spines, and yucca leaf strips and is still stained with ink. Gillreath-Brown used non-destructive techniques and experimental archaeology to analyze the tool. Gillreath-Bown observed that a replica of the tool, when used to tattoo pig skin, developed the same pattern of wear seen on the prehistoric tool.
The recent publication about the find in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports is receiving widespread publicity, in addition to articles in National Geographic and Newsweek. You can also find out more by reading the article by Gillreath-Brown et al. on Science Direct, where it is available through an open access license. While this is only a small part of a larger study, it has helped to develop our knowledge of the people who inhabited the area.
This discovery is another example of how archaeological collections can help us gain insights into life in the past, even decades after they were collected. The BLM Scientific Studies Support Program provided funding to help manage this collection, which is curated at the Washington State University Museum of Anthropology under a federal repository agreement with BLM-Utah. Public lands hold clues and stories that help us to better understand the cultural landscape and history of North America. Not only are the remarkable cliffs and valleys of southeastern Utah still home to Indigenous Americans, they provide a window into the lives of their ancestors. You can help preserve these stories by Respecting and Protecting public lands and leaving sites and artifacts as you find them. If you would like to visit the Cedar Mesa or Grand Gulch, please review the permit requirements on BLM.gov.
Story by Diana Barg, BLM Utah Museum Collections Manager, and Rachel Wootton, BLM Utah Public Affairs Specialist. Photos by Bob Wick, BLM, and courtesy of Andrew Gillreath-Brown, Washington State University, and Bob Hubner, Washington State University.
Happy International Day of Forests!
The United Nations designated this day to recognize all of the vitally important facets of global forestry: sustainable forest management; biodiversity conservation; and contributing to the prosperity, well-being of current and future generations.
In America, the Bureau of Land Management manages about 65 million acres of forest and woodlands, protecting wildlife habitat, maintaining clean water and practicing sustainable timber harvesting, to name just a few aspects of its forest management plan. In essence, everything that forests provide today needs to be provided in the future.
🌳 Learn more about BLM forests: https://goo.gl/qgVkCQ
Rare reptile bones, millions of years old excavated in North Park, Colorado
Six inches below loose soil, amidst a sea of sagebrush, four paleontologists work meticulously with brushes, picks and other tools, to uncover 50 to 60-million-year-old crocodile and turtle bones.
It’s a windy and cold day in North Park, Colorado. Snow-capped mountains rise from the horizon amid clouds sprinkled across the blue sky. The soft, dry soil absorbs my footprints as I approach the fossil excavation site on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Coalmont Formation.
Named for deposits found near Coalmont, Colorado and along the North Platte River, fossil leaves and pollen date the formation to the late Paleocene and early Eocene Epochs, approximately 50 to 60-million years old.
Millions of years ago, the environment in North Park was different from the dry, sagebrush-covered landscape of present. The climate was tropical, and the animals and plants inhabited shallow ponds and swamps at a time when volcanic eruptions in what is now Colorado were common occurrences. Plant and fish fossils have been previously discovered in the Coalmont Formation, but this is the first discovery of reptile bones, and a cause for much paleontological excitement.
“We are excited the BLM approved our collection permit to collect the first known crocodile discovered in the Coalmont Formation,” says Geraldine Aron, paleontologist and President of Paleo Solutions, Inc., the company excavating the rare fossils.
At first glance, the one square meter excavation area looks like a pile of dirt. Closer examination reveals a vertebra, teeth, bits of turtle shell and various limb bones. The paleontologists identify the bones as crocodile due to the presence of osteoderms - bony scales identical to those of modern crocodiles. A few paces away from the main excavation site, a rib bone lies uncovered. Paleontologists think it belongs to a turtle, but more research is needed to confirm.
“Paleontological resources provide a glimpse into past environments and time periods. This new fossil discovery is scientifically important because it adds crocodiles and turtles to the list of fossils known in this formation,” says Dr. Paul C. Murphey, Vice President and Principal Paleontologist of Paleo Solutions, Inc. “This site is so rich that future collection efforts may even produce a fossil mammal, and just one mammal tooth would be extremely useful for more precisely dating all of the fossils found here.”
The fossils were discovered in the summer of 2017 during a 3D geophysical investigation to locate oil in the North Park Basin. Prior to any surface-disturbing activity on BLM-managed public land, a cultural resource survey is required in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. A paleontological resource survey may be required under BLM policy, depending on the potential for paleontological resources in the area. BLM works to protect and preserve the cultural and paleontological resources found on the 8.3 million acres of public land BLM manages in Colorado.
Due to the rarity of the fossils, the paleontologists with Paleo Solutions are excavating and sending the fossils to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for preservation and research. The paleontologists are excavating the fossils as a block. They will not fully know what the block contains until it is transported to the museum’s lab.
Over the two-day excavation, the fossils are prepared for transport. Paleontologists trench the entire specimen, removing earth around the edge of the fossil area to form a mushroom shape. Then the fossils undergo the jacketing process – constructing a plaster bandage to prevent damage during transport. The mushroom top is covered with a plaster and burlap casing. Once dry, the plaster jackets are separated from the soil base and ready for transport.
Excavation is tedious work, but the paleontologists love it. During our time at the site, they uncover a tooth and some ancient fish poop. I stare at the dime-sized, brown spot of fish poop in the dry chunk of soil, amazed at what you can find after millions of years under dirt.
Story by Kate Miyamoto, BLM.
This story was reported and covered by CBS4 News and 9News in Denver.
#BatWeek: Be a bat hero!
Far from scary, bats enrich our lives by protecting American forests and agriculture from damaging insect pests and supporting plant pollination. These small creatures have a huge impact, and Bat Week is a great time to share their important contributions and think about what we can do to help them!
The Bureau of Land Management and our partners protect bats by increasing the quality and availability of bat roosting and foraging habitat. The BLM and Bat Conservation International work together to identify abandoned mines that are no longer suitable for mining, conduct surveys to assess bat habitat and population health that provide suitable habitat through bat-friendly mine closures. These closures help protect public safety, while providing habitat for dwindling bat populations.
There are many steps any member of the public can take to protect bats! Here are a few from our friends at Bat Conservation International:
- Turn out the lights! Light pollution affects insect populations, disrupts bats as they migrate, and deters sensitive bat species.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle! The overwhelming amount of garbage produced each year — hundreds of millions of tons in America alone — is one of the biggest hurdles to a healthy environment for bats and humans.
- Learn more about your local habitat and ecological relationships. Read about bats online or attend a Bat Week event.
- Help your friends and family understand that bats are beneficial and need our help.
- If you can, plant a garden. You’ll have food and flowers, and you’ll attract insects that feed the bats. Consider creating a compost pile to add to the garden, recycle food scraps and attract even more, yummy bat food.
- Volunteer! Parks, zoos, nature centers, conservancies, rehabilitation centers, museums, etc., rely on volunteers to help educate visitors, care for animals or take leadership roles. Your time is an invaluable gift.
Find out what else you can do at BatWeek.org.
Bat Week starts today and runs through Wednesday, October 31. This #BatWeek, and every week, the Bureau of Land Management is proud to work with partners to manage and conserve habitat for bats across the nation. Visit blm.gov/bat-week to learn more about the BLM’s bat resources.
Alaska’s northern lights
Above Alaska’s frozen landscape, every so often during the coldest, clearest and darkest part of the winter, the sky lights up with a dancing celestial curtain of brilliant green, red and purple swirls illuminating much of the nearly 702 million acres of Alaska’s public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
This phenomenon – the aurora borealis or northern lights – has inspired awe in poets, artists and songwriters for hundreds of years. Every Northern culture has legends about the once mysterious lights. Some have explained them as magic, dancing spirits, temperamental gods or blood raining from the clouds.
Today, we know that the spectacle is created by solar activity. Occasionally, cool, dark regions known as sunspots form on the sun’s surface at sites of intense magnetic activity. When sunspots flare, a stream of electronically charged particles 100,000 times hotter than boiling water is ejected. This burst of particles snaps off the sun like a rubber band, creating powerful gusts in the solar winds traveling across the galaxy. A few days later, the solar winds may reach the Earth’s upper atmosphere where fast-moving electrons collide with the Earth’s magnetic field, gravitating toward the North and South poles. The result is aurorae – geomagnetic storms that lights up the sky.
The best time to view aurorae in the Northern Hemisphere is typically during early fall and late winter when the Earth’s tilt is toward the sun. As darkness settles upon the land after a brief, sun-saturated summer, visitors flock to public lands hopeful that clear skies and a little luck will give them the chance to experience the magic and mystery of a northern lights display.
For the hardy and adventurous, BLM-managed public lands offer perfect vistas for viewing aurorae.
For instance, skiing out to one of the BLM’s remote public-use cabins in the White Mountains National Recreation Area offers the opportunity to escape light pollution and capture breathtaking photographs. There are also seasonal direct flights to Fairbanks and charter tours out toward BLM’s Steese National Conservation Area that will afford more than a glimpse of the lights over endless rolling hills and tundra.
You can even catch the aurorae in Anchorage, Alaska’s biggest city. The BLM’s Campbell Tract offers outstanding shelter from the bright city lights and is just minutes away from local amenities.
A trip up the Dalton Highway, made famous by the reality TV show “Ice Road Truckers,” provides one of the best chances to see the northern lights in Alaska. Tourism operators provide opportunities for visitors to venture by van or bush plane through the BLM’s Dalton Highway Corridor. Locals from Coldfoot and Wiseman provide a warm bed and/or hearty meals, and even wake-up calls when the aurorae get active. For BLM staff working in this region, the thrill of witnessing a stunning display of lights never grows old. “It’s amazing to return to the cabin after a day of measuring snow depths in temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees and to look out that window and see aurorae dancing in the sky,” says Kelly Egger, an outdoor recreation planner for the Central Yukon Field Office. “I’m lucky to work in a place like this.”
Story by Karen Deatherage, former park ranger and interpretation specialist for the BLM Central Yukon Field Office in Fairbanks, originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of My Public Lands Magazine.
Timelapse by Bob Wick, BLM.
National Fossil Day on the Mall
A few BLM employees spent Wednesday, October 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. sharing information about BLM-managed lands and paleontology. Throughout the day they spoke with children, adults and representatives of the BLM’s partner organizations about importance of public lands in preserving paleontological information for future generations.
The event occurred just outside of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, an ideal location to catch school groups visiting museums and other iconic D.C. sites. BLM employees shared a cast of a Teratophoneus fossil skull found on BLM-managed lands in Southern Utah and had a fossil puzzle for attendees to try. Nayethzi Hernandez, an intern with the BLM’s National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships from Hinckley Institute of Politics, helped at the National Fossil Day Event. When asked about her experience, she said, “I was surprised by the range in ages of attendees and the breadth of their knowledge about paleontology. This event created a space for attendees to share a common interest and discuss questions they about fossils, dinosaurs, and public lands.”
Many of the BLM’s partner organizations attended the event, including the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. In addition to these federal agencies, the BLM works with museums, academic institutions, and state agencies to help protect and interpret fossil discoveries. Public lands provide an outdoor laboratory for professional and citizen scientists to explore the natural world and learn about earth history.
To find out more about the BLM’s paleontology program and significant finds, visit the BLM’s paleontology program webpage.
Happy National Fossil Day!
National Fossil Day is a celebration highlighting the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils. Held during Earth Science Week each October, National Fossil Day gives the BLM an opportunity to share the role public lands play in preserving prehistoric resources for present and future generations. The BLM has partnerships with museums and academic institutions involved in paleontology.
Here are some exciting fossil-facts to kick off the celebration:
- Paleontology is the science that investigates the history of life on Earth. The term is derived from the Greek word palaios (“ancient”) and the suffix -ology (“study of”).
- Fossils provide clues to the interrelationships of all species. The life that we see today is just a snapshot in time - but that life has a history. One of the ways we learn about the ancestors of today’s species (and their ancestors, and their ancestors and so on) is by studying fossils.
- Paleontologists study fossils, which are the naturally occurring remains or traces of organisms. BLM paleontologists help researchers through permitting, work with partners, public education efforts, fossil inventory/monitoring and other important tasks.
This year, we are excited to share National Fossil Day across the BLM’s social media channels. Visit the National BLM Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to learn more. Public lands offer great opportunities for fossil discovery and provide outdoor laboratories for professional and citizen scientists to explore.
We invite you to celebrate National Fossil Day and the wonderful diversity of fossils and learn more about fossils on BLM-managed public lands: blm.gov/programs/cultural-resources/paleontology.
#EarthScienceWeek: Using science on your public lands
This week is Earth Science Week. Here at the BLM, we strive to apply the best and latest science and research in managing public lands. Along with other factors, science helps the BLM make decisions about public land uses such as grazing, energy development, mining, timber harvest and recreation, among others.
This week, follow along as we highlighting some interesting facts about earth science in America’s backyard. First topic- geology! The Crack in the Ground is Southern Oregon’s little-known geologic wonder and is a volcanic fissure over two miles long and up to 70 feet deep in Lake County. The length of the fissure can be hiked, as there is an established trail along the fissure’s bottom. Normally, fissures like this one are filled in with soil and rock by the processes of erosion and sedimentation, but because Crack in the Ground is located in such an arid region, very little filling has occurred. As a result, Crack in the Ground exists today nearly as it did shortly after its formation. When you get there it is easy to cool off, as the bottom of the crack can be as much as twenty degrees below the surface temperature.
Photos by Greg Shine, BLM.
International Youth Day: the future of land management
At the Bureau of Land Management, educating our nation’s youth about their public lands in “America’s largest classroom” is essential to engage the next generation of public land stewards. Through various programs and events across the nation, we work to build appreciation of public lands by connecting people and the land together through outdoor experiences, education and volunteerism.
Check out blm.gov/learn for resources for teachers and information about outdoor ethics, Every Kid in a Park and volunteering opportunities!