News
ENLARGE
The discovery of Ice Age fossils near Snowmass Village, and the excitement they've generated, will shape the future focus of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. What it means for Snowmass and the Roaring Fork Valley remains to be seen.
“I think it has finally dawned on the Roaring Fork Valley that they own an amazing asset,” said Dr. Kirk Johnson, the museum's chief curator, during a press conference Thursday at the Ice Age Discover Center in Snowmass. Gov. John Hickenlooper also spoke briefly.
“How is the valley going to capitalize on this amazing discovery?” pondered Johnson, who predicted that the museum will put a greater focus on the Ice Age as a result of the finds.
Both Johnson and Hickenlooper praised the town of Snowmass Village and the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District for enthusiastically accommodating the unexpected fossil dig in the midst of a reservoir expansion.
The discoveries are well-known beyond the state and the country, Hickenlooper assured the group after paying a visit to Ziegler Reservoir, where a mastodon femur turned up in his presence, though the fossil search has officially ended.
“I think the scientific boundary we pushed here is fantastic. I mean, it's incredible,” the governor said. “It's a big deal for Colorado.”
The seven-week fossil dig this spring, which wrapped up a week ago, produced 4,826 bones, including 74 large specimens that were encased in plaster jackets for transport to Denver. One of them, a collection of mastodon bones and plaster weighing an estimated 10,000 pounds, was hoisted onto a truck at Ziegler Reservoir on Thursday.
“In the next 18 months, amazing things are going to come out of those plaster jackets,” Johnson said.
Eighty-two loose teeth, 49 tusks and a multitude of other bones from at least 26 different vertebrate animals were recovered, and Johnson believes the species count will grow with closer examination of the specimens.
The overall bone count is staggering, Johnson said, but the collection of mastodon bones from animals ranging from very young to mature adults is unprecedented, surpassing a Missouri fossil site.
“Without question, this is the finest mastodon site in the world,” he said to applause.
Johnson recapped the dig effort at the reservoir, which began last October when a bulldozer operator unearthed the bones of what turned out to be a Columbian mammoth.
And, he reiterated his comfort with removing fossils where an earthen dam is now under construction, and allowing the rest of the reservoir to be refilled with water, protecting whatever fossils remain.
“I would be the person leading the charge if it made no sense to fill the reservoir,” Johnson said.
Rather, the Water and Sanitation District can finish its project, the museum can finish raising the roughly $1 million it spent on the dig (it's about halfway there), and staff and a host of other participating scientists can evaluate the wealth of data and specimens they've collected.
“That, in my mind, is a perfect scenario,” Johnson said.
With one acre of the 12-acre lake emptied of fossils, the rest remain for another day. “We can go back in for another slice of the Ice Age pie,” he said.
Among the research to be done is narrowing the age of the bones, which scientists have placed at 50,000 to 150,000 years old, analyzing core samples of sediment along with plant specimens, which Johnson predicted will provide a climate history for the Rocky Mountains, and figuring out why so many animals died in one place.
The plant specimens, including logs that ringed the ancient lake and pollen grains that were collected along with the bones, will give scientists a detailed picture of an Ice Age environment in the Rocky Mountains, according to Johnson.
While the number of bones will never rival the 3 million or so plant and animal specimens that have come from the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, he said, Ziegler will reveal a prehistoric snapshot.
“It's a lot easier to talk about the Ice Age when I'm standing next to a ski area than when I'm standing next to Disneyland,” Johnson said.
How the ski resort will talk about the Ice Age is largely the charge of the Ice Age Discovery Committee, nicknamed the “Tusk Force.”
The discovery center on the mall is currently scheduled to remain there into October. The committee is contemplating a more permanent site that could host exhibits, a multipurpose room and perhaps a small lab for teaching purposes, said member Colleen Doyle. The goal is also to connect with other science sites and programs in the valley, linking to such organizations as the Roaring Fork Conservancy and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, she said.
janet@aspentimes.com
“I think it has finally dawned on the Roaring Fork Valley that they own an amazing asset,” said Dr. Kirk Johnson, the museum's chief curator, during a press conference Thursday at the Ice Age Discover Center in Snowmass. Gov. John Hickenlooper also spoke briefly.
“How is the valley going to capitalize on this amazing discovery?” pondered Johnson, who predicted that the museum will put a greater focus on the Ice Age as a result of the finds.
Both Johnson and Hickenlooper praised the town of Snowmass Village and the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District for enthusiastically accommodating the unexpected fossil dig in the midst of a reservoir expansion.
The discoveries are well-known beyond the state and the country, Hickenlooper assured the group after paying a visit to Ziegler Reservoir, where a mastodon femur turned up in his presence, though the fossil search has officially ended.
“I think the scientific boundary we pushed here is fantastic. I mean, it's incredible,” the governor said. “It's a big deal for Colorado.”
The seven-week fossil dig this spring, which wrapped up a week ago, produced 4,826 bones, including 74 large specimens that were encased in plaster jackets for transport to Denver. One of them, a collection of mastodon bones and plaster weighing an estimated 10,000 pounds, was hoisted onto a truck at Ziegler Reservoir on Thursday.
“In the next 18 months, amazing things are going to come out of those plaster jackets,” Johnson said.
Eighty-two loose teeth, 49 tusks and a multitude of other bones from at least 26 different vertebrate animals were recovered, and Johnson believes the species count will grow with closer examination of the specimens.
The overall bone count is staggering, Johnson said, but the collection of mastodon bones from animals ranging from very young to mature adults is unprecedented, surpassing a Missouri fossil site.
“Without question, this is the finest mastodon site in the world,” he said to applause.
Johnson recapped the dig effort at the reservoir, which began last October when a bulldozer operator unearthed the bones of what turned out to be a Columbian mammoth.
And, he reiterated his comfort with removing fossils where an earthen dam is now under construction, and allowing the rest of the reservoir to be refilled with water, protecting whatever fossils remain.
“I would be the person leading the charge if it made no sense to fill the reservoir,” Johnson said.
Rather, the Water and Sanitation District can finish its project, the museum can finish raising the roughly $1 million it spent on the dig (it's about halfway there), and staff and a host of other participating scientists can evaluate the wealth of data and specimens they've collected.
“That, in my mind, is a perfect scenario,” Johnson said.
With one acre of the 12-acre lake emptied of fossils, the rest remain for another day. “We can go back in for another slice of the Ice Age pie,” he said.
Among the research to be done is narrowing the age of the bones, which scientists have placed at 50,000 to 150,000 years old, analyzing core samples of sediment along with plant specimens, which Johnson predicted will provide a climate history for the Rocky Mountains, and figuring out why so many animals died in one place.
The plant specimens, including logs that ringed the ancient lake and pollen grains that were collected along with the bones, will give scientists a detailed picture of an Ice Age environment in the Rocky Mountains, according to Johnson.
While the number of bones will never rival the 3 million or so plant and animal specimens that have come from the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, he said, Ziegler will reveal a prehistoric snapshot.
“It's a lot easier to talk about the Ice Age when I'm standing next to a ski area than when I'm standing next to Disneyland,” Johnson said.
How the ski resort will talk about the Ice Age is largely the charge of the Ice Age Discovery Committee, nicknamed the “Tusk Force.”
The discovery center on the mall is currently scheduled to remain there into October. The committee is contemplating a more permanent site that could host exhibits, a multipurpose room and perhaps a small lab for teaching purposes, said member Colleen Doyle. The goal is also to connect with other science sites and programs in the valley, linking to such organizations as the Roaring Fork Conservancy and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, she said.
janet@aspentimes.com
