Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring, Mid-Atlantic Network

Kenworthy, Jason; Visaggi, Christy; Santucci, Vincent

Paleontological resources, or fossils, are any remains of past life preserved in geologic context. There are two main types of fossils: body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils are parts of an actual organism (shells, bones, teeth, plant leaves, etc.) while trace fossils (burrows, coprolites, footprints, trackways, etc.) preserve evidence of an organism’s activity or behavior. Fossils are non-renewable natural resources that possess great scientific, educational, and interpretive value. In conjunction with the NPS Geologic Resources Division and NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, paleontological resource inventories have been initiated in dozens of parks service-wide and are further described in the Methodology and Inventory Strategies section. This report presents paleontological resource inventory and monitoring data compiled for the parks of the Mid-Atlantic I&M Network (MIDN). The Mid-Atlantic Network includes ten National Park Service areas in Virginia and Pennsylvania: Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (Virginia; APCO), Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia; BOWA), Eisenhower National Historic Site (Pennsylvania; EISE), Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (Virginia; FRSP), Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania; GETT), Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (Pennsylvania; HOFU), Petersburg National Battlefield (Virginia; PETE), Richmond National Battlefield Park (Virginia; RICH), Shenandoah National Park (Virginia; SHEN), and Valley Forge National Historical Park (Pennsylvania; VAFO). While none of the parks were established specifically for paleontological resource stewardship, fossils are known from a number of MIDN parks including Gettysburg National Military Park, Petersburg National Battlefield, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Shenandoah National Park, and Valley Forge National Historical Park. Geologic formations that have produced fossils outside of park boundaries of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site are mapped within those parks. Such discoveries indicate the possibility for future fossil finds within the parks. The paleontological resources found within MIDN parks are quite diverse, span more than 500 million years, and in some cases are nationally, or even globally significant. For example, Port Kennedy Cave, located within what is now Valley Forge National Historical Park produced one of the most significant assemblages of Pleistocene (about 750,000 years old) fossils in North America. Cambrian-aged worm burrows some 500 million or more years old have been found in the rocks of at least two MIDN parks (SHEN and VAFO) and have been found just outside of a third (HOFU). Evidence of dinosaurs can also be found in an MIDN park, as dinosaurian tracks were found in a bridge at Gettysburg National Military Park. Fossiliferous geologic formations are found in both Richmond National Battlefield Park and Petersburg National Battlefield and yielded many marine fossils of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Taken together, the paleontological resources of the Mid-Atlantic Network contribute much to a greater understanding of the history of life on earth. Continued paleontological resource inventories will serve to expand this ever-widening base of paleontological knowledge represented throughout the National Park Service. Although more than 180 parks have already been identified as containing paleontological resources, much of what is to be known about the history of life on earth remains to be discovered.

Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring, Mid-Atlantic Network

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