Museum management plan: Dinosaur National Monument

Bayless, Jonathan; Bush, Kent; Elder, Ann; Mitchell, Lynn; Ostergren, Marilyn

The Dinosaur National Monument Museum Management Plan outlines a series of issues concerning the management and use of museum collections and recommends corresponding actions to address those issues. The monument currently holds about 50,617 museum objects and specimens. There are an additional 559,199 individual items to be added to the park archives and museum collection. The total collections at this time are estimated to contain 609,816 items. Initially, the legislative mandate (signed by President Woodrow Wilson in October 1915) creating Dinosaur National Monument required the park to preserve an extraordinary deposit of Jurassic dinosaurs of great scientific interest. When the monument was enlarged by more than 211,000 acres in 1931 and 1938, the park mandate expanded to include conservation of the scenic, natural, and historic resources of the Green and Yampa River canyons. By their nature, fossil parks are rich in museum collections and associated data. In few other types of parks is the primary resource so closely tied to the scientific community. Because the Morrison Formation extends beyond park boundaries, there is a great need for partnerships with other local agencies. One such partnership has already been established with the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park, and the local Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service. A joint curatorial/research facility is slated for construction in 2005. The Research and Resource Management Division of Dinosaur National Monument, which includes the curatorial program, is presently in a developmental stage. This Museum Management Plan offers recommendations that will help the monument move forward in a proactive and responsible manner. (from Executive Summary)

Museum management plan: Dinosaur National Monument

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