Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—North Coast and Cascades Network

Fay, Lisa; Kenworthy, Jason; Santucci, Vincent

Paleontological resources (fossils) are any remains of past life preserved in a geologic context. Paleontological resources are non-renewable resources found in at least 219 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 North Coast and Cascades 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 27 NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks. The National Inventory and Monitoring Program provided funding to complete paleontological resource summaries for each of the remaining networks. The paleontological resources known from the parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network come from marine, terrestrial, glacial, and glacial deposits, and range from Late Paleozoic to Holocene in age. All NCCN parks (EBLA, FOVA, LEWI, MORA, NOCA, OLYM, and SAJH) have been the subject of glacial chronology studies and Pleistocene-Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstructions. These studies analyze pollen and microfossils, plant fragments, and marine and terrestrial invertebrates (especially mollusks). Trees preserved in Holocene mass wasting deposits at MORA help scientists to understand potential hazards associated with Mount Rainier. Paleontological resources occur in cultural contexts at EBLA, FOVA, LEWI, NOCA, OLYM, and SAJH. Evidence of early human occupation in these areas comes from home sites and kitchen middens. These sites contain the remains of marine and terrestrial invertebrates (mostly mollusks) as well as remains of vertebrates including fish, terrestrial mammals, birds, and marine mammals. Many cultural sites also contain objects like “worked” bone and shell material and in some cases, tools. In the case of FOVA, paleontological resources also include historic objects such as personal curios, trade objects, and building materials. Marine microfossils and marine invertebrates (especially mollusks) examined from rocks at NOCA, OLYM, and LEWI help geologists to understand the ages and relationships of Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks; similar studies based on plant fossils have been conducted in and around MORA. Evidence of unusual chemosynthetic communities are preserved in the rocks of OLYM and LEWI; deposits such as these preserve the earliest known examples of a myriad of genera and species, and therefore they are significant to paleontological studies. The majority of the paleontological discoveries within NCCN parks have not appeared in popular literature but may be found in geological publications and unpublished theses, if reported or studied at all.

Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—North Coast and Cascades Network

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