Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring—Cumberland Piedmont Network

Hunt-Foster, ReBecca; Kenworthy, Jason; Santucci, Vincent; Connors, Tim; Thornberry-Ehrlich, Trista

This report provides baseline paleontological resource data to National Park Service administration and resource management staff. The report contains information regarding the location of non-renewable paleontological resources within NPS units.It is not intended for distribution to the general public. Paleontological resources (fossils) are any remains of past life preserved in a geologic context. Paleontological resources are non-renewable resources found in more than 214 National Park Service (NPS) units. Despite the abundance and diversity of these resources throughout the NPS, until recently few parks have adequate baseline paleontological resource data.The NPS National Inventory and Monitoring Program and the NPS Geologic Resources Division have developed various strategies to provide parks with the baseline paleontological resource data necessary for greater understanding and appropriate management of these resources. This report presents a paleontological resource summary for the parks of the Cumberland Piedmont Network. The summary was compiled through extensive literature reviews and interviews with park staff and professional geologists and paleontologists. Preliminary paleontological resource management recommendations are also included for each park. Including this report, summaries have been prepared for 25 of 32 NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks. The National Inventory and Monitoring Program has provided funding to complete paleontological resource summaries for each of the remaining networks.The paleontological resources known from the parks of the Cumberland Piedmont Network primarily consist of Paleozoic invertebrate fauna and plant fossils from Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (ABLI), Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (CUGA), Fort Donelson National Battlefield (FODO), Little River Canyon National Preserve (LIRI), Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA), Russell Cave National Monument (RUCA), and Stones River National Battlefield (STRI), along with Pleistocene megafaunal remains from caves at Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park (CHCH), Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA), and Russell Cave National Monument (RUCA). Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (CARL) preserves fossils in a cultural context as part of the Sandburg family collection. Fossils were discovered as part of fill material used within the Shiloh Mounds Complex within Shiloh National Military Park (SHIL). Fossils would not be expected from the metamorphic rocks documented from the other parks in the Cumberland Piedmont Network including: Cowpens National Battlefield (COWP), Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (GUCO), Kings Mountain National Military Park (KIMO), and Ninety Six National Historic Site (NISI).

Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring—Cumberland Piedmont Network

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