News Release

September Brings Astrophotography, a Trail Clean-Up, and a Paleontology Program to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument!

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 7, 2023

Contact: Tera Lynn Gray, 308-436-9768

The kids may be back in school, but Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is offering one more month of fun “summer” events. A Landscape Astrophotography class will be on Saturday, September 9th from 7-11pm. The park will host a Trail Clean-Up on Monday, September 11th from 9am-12pm. Finally, South Dakota School of Mines Paleontology Lab Manager, Sam Wright, will present “Vertebrate Fossil Preparation: Tools and Techniques” on Saturday, September 23rd at 1pm.

First up, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument invites stargazing enthusiasts and photography aficionados to learn how to capture their own social likes-worthy Milky Way and starscape photos with "Landscape Astrophotography 101."

The event kicks off on Saturday, September 9th, at 7 p.m. with an informative indoor seminar held in the Agate Fossil Beds visitor center. During this session, participants will gain valuable insights into camera settings, composition techniques, and post-processing tips that are essential for creating stunning astrophotography.

Following the seminar, at 8:30 p.m., attendees will venture outside to apply their newfound knowledge in a hands-on workshop until 11pm. Using their own DSLR or Mirrorless cameras (with manual mode), sturdy tripods, and red headlamps, participants will have the opportunity to capture the awe-inspiring beauty of the Milky Way with the iconic Lakota tipis as a foreground element. Please be sure to attend the 7 p.m. workshop in order to get the most out of the hands-on portion.

"Landscape astrophotography is an incredibly fun and rewarding hobby," National Park Service volunteer and astrophotography enthusiast Jason Gray says. "It allows you to blend the beauty of the night sky with the history and natural beauty of our home planet in interesting ways."

Two days later on Monday, September 11th, park rangers will host a trail clean-up on the popular one-mile Daeomonelix Trail. Tasks include: weeding along the trail borders, fixing water channels along eroded parts of the trail, and covering bare spots of the trail with new gravel. Equipment and tools will be provided. However, volunteers are welcome to bring their own gloves, if preferred. Volunteers are also encouraged to check the weather ahead of time. September weather is unpredictable and volunteers should dress accordingly.

As a thank you to our volunteers, Ranger Ember will provide a special geology program along the trail at 11am. “I love sharing how clearly you can see the contacts between different geologic formations,” says Ember. “There are really interesting different paleoenvironments on this trail in which rocks were formed.”

Please register ahead of time for the trail clean-up. Volunteers can call Ranger Tera Lynn at [phone] or email e-mail us to reserve their space.

Finally, Agate Fossil Beds will wrap up the 4th Saturday Summer Speaker Series with a paleontology program from Sam Wright on Saturday, September 23rd at 1pm. She will discuss and demonstrate the tools and techniques used in vertebrate fossil preparation. This will be an inside look at a fantastic paleontological career of a fossil preparator. 

Sam Wright is the Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager at the Museum of Geology which is part of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a master's degree from East Tennessee State University. She obtained previous preparation experience from fossil preparation labs located at Ashfall Fossil Beds, University of Nebraska State Museum and the Gray Fossil Site.

Following Sam’s presentation on September 23rd, Ranger Amelia will provide a guided tour of the Cook Collection. She will focus on the artifacts that highlight Lakota women’s history.

We hope you can join us at Agate Fossil Beds in September! ASL interpreters and/or audio description is available upon request for all the programs. For more information, please contact the park at [phone] or e-mail us.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is located 34 miles north of Mitchell, NE or 22 miles south of Harrison, NE on Highway 29 and 3 miles east on River Rd. The Visitor Center summer hours are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and the trails are open from dawn until dusk. Visit us at www.nps.gov/agfo and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.