The intersection of New Deal public works programs and National Park Service paleontology
Rich MM, Santucci VL, Tweet JS. 2025. The intersection of New Deal public works programs and National Park Service paleontology. Pages 547–557. In Lucas SG, Morgan GS, Hunt AP, Lichtig AJ (ed). Fossil Record 11. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 101
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal created numerous public works programs to relieve the burden of unemployment during the Great Depression and conserve America’s public lands and natural resources. Millions of workers were employed to build infrastructure and perform environmental protection efforts, including on newly or soon-to-be established units of the National Park Service. At a number of these parks, the work administered by programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) uncovered fossil resources or directly supported educational paleontology projects. The early histories of Big Bend National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Fossil Cycad National Monument, and Grand Canyon National Park, among other parks, each present significant interactions between public works program workers and paleontological resources. Some notable examples include the creation of fossil displays at CCC-built museums and the excavation of fossil specimens by CCC and WPA workmen. These understudied interactions illustrate the lasting impact of New Deal programs and help to coalesce a rich and largely untold history of paleontological work throughout the National Park Service.