Comprehensive park inventories are designed to identify all known paleontological resources within a single park unit and involve the assembly of a team of specialists from within the NPS, and from educational institutions and cooperators. These specialists work together with the park to identify and address all aspects of the paleontological resources within the targeted park, including resource management, museum curation, law enforcement, and interpretation. The goals and objectives of a park-specific paleontological resource inventory are detailed by Santucci (2000). An important component of many comprehensive paleontological inventories is to provide paleontology-specific training for park staff.
Park-specific Inventory Reports
Available for Viewing and Download
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Hunt, A.P. and V.L. Santucci, 2001. Paleontological resources of Lake Meredith National Recriation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, West Texas. New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 52nd Field Conference, Geology of Llano Batacado, p. 257-264.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Kottkamp, S., V.L. Santucci, J.S. Tweet, R. Horrocks, E. Lynch, and G.S. Morgan. 2020. Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Paleontological resources inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report NPS/CAVE/NRR—2020/2148. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Varela PJ and Others. 2019. Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Paleontological resources inventory (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/CHCU/NRR—2019/1915. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Korn AS, Armstrong ML, Santucci VL, Tweet J. 2016. Chickasaw National Recreation Area paleontological resources inventory (Public Version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/CHIC/NRR—2016/1276. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Colonial National Historical Park
Chriscoe M, Lockwood R, Tweet JS, Santucci VL. 2022. Colonial National Historical Park: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/COLO/NRR—2022/2361. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Colorado National Monument
Shaffer A, Tweet J, Santucci V. 2024. Colorado National Monument: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Science Report. NPS/SR—2024/116. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Death Valley National Park
Nyborg TG and Santucci VL. 1999. Death Valley National Park paleontological survey. Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-99/01. Geologic Resources Division, National Park Service. Lakewood, CO—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Devils Tower National Monument
Tweet JS and Santucci VL. 2019. Devils Tower National Monument: Paleontological resources inventory (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/DETO/NRR—2019/1969. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. (Public Access)—IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Grand Canyon National Park
Santucci VL and Tweet JS (ed). 2020. Grand Canyon National Park: Centennial paleontological resource inventory (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/GRCA/NRR—2020/2103. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
Tweet JS, Flora H, Weeks SR, McIntyre E, Santucci VL. 2021. Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Clinton JM, Visaggi CC, Tweet JS, Santucci VL, Irick K. 2023. Gulf Islands National Seashore: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/GUIS/NRR—2023/2525. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Tweet JS, Santucci VL, Ashton I. 2022. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/KAWW/NRR—2022/2472. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Lake Meredith National Recriation Area
Hunt, A.P. and V.L. Santucci, 2001. Paleontological resources of Lake Meredith National Recriation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, West Texas. New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 52nd Field Conference, Geology of Llano Batacado, p. 257-264.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Mesa Verde National Park
Harrison GW and Others. 2017. Mesa Verde National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/MEVE/NRR—2017/1550. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Mojave National Preserve
Johnson E, Andeskie S, Tweet JS, Santucci VL. 2023. Mojave National Preserve: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/MOJA/NRR—2023/2541. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado..—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Koch, A.L., V.L. Santucci, and T.R. Weasma, 2004. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Paleontological Survey. National Park Service Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-04/01, 27 pp.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Salcido, C. J., P. Wilson, J. S. Tweet, B. E. McCann, C. A. Boyd, and V. L. Santucci. 2022. Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report NPS/THRO/NRR—2022/2385. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Vicksburg National Military Park
Rich MM, Beightol CV, Visaggi CC, Tweet JS, Santucci VL. 2023. Vicksburg National Military Park: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/VICK/NRR—2023/2516. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado..—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Boudreau DM and Others. 2018. Walnut Canyon National Monument: Paleontological resource inventory (non-sensitive version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/WACA/NRR—2018/1658. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Wind Cave National Park
Herring T, Tweet JS, Santucci VL. 2023. Wind Cave National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/WICA/NRR—2023/2536. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Yellowstone National Park
Santucci VL. 1998. The Yellowstone paleontological survey. YCR-NR-98-1. Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Center for Resources—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Yucca House National Monument
Crystal, V. F., J. S. Tweet, and V. L. Santucci. 2022. Yucca House National Monument: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report NPS/YUHO/NRR—2022/2392. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.—[IRMA Portal] [NPSHistory.com]
Internal Park Survey Reports
in accordance with the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, many park surveys have not been made publicly available due to resource sensitivity. In addition to the reports listed above, the following parks with fossils have had paleontological resources surveys conducted:
Amistad National Recreation Area
Arches National Park
Big Bend National Park
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Buffalo National River
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Great Basin National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
National Capital Parks East
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Wupatki National Monument
Zion National Park
References
Santucci, V.L., 2000. Standard Operating Procedures for Locating and Protecting Paleontological Resources. Lake Meredith National Recreational Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Oil and Gas Management Plant / Enviromental Impact Statement. National Park Service, Denver. Appendix F, p. F1-2.
