Agate Fossil Beds
Administrative History
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CHAPTER 5:
A DECADE OF CHALLENGES AND REASSESSMENTS, 1971-1980 (continued)

Permanent Visitor Facilities? 1977-1980

The year 1977 began with the administration of Gerald R. Ford giving way to the Jimmy Carter team. Democrats J. J. Exon and Edward Zorinsky represented Nebraska in the Senate. A new voice in the House was Nebraska 3rd District Congresswoman Virginia Smith, a member of the Committee on Appropriations. The Meades lost no time in enlisting Congresswoman Smith's assistance following a promise during the 1976 campaign in which Smith stated she would permit no further land acquisition at Agate Fossil Beds as long as she was in Congress. Mrs. Meade wrote to Congresswoman Smith on February 3, 1977, asking Smith to intervene with the Secretary of the Interior to ensure that the Agate Springs Ranch was excluded when he designated the boundaries of the national monument. Dorothy Meade extended an invitation to Smith to visit the ranch:

To be able to speak from first-hand observation on the spot would strengthen your position in opposing further land acquisition for this Monument in the Appropriations subcommittee. . . . Admittedly, with a change in Administration, such designation may be years in the future. Yet we are concerned that Harper, and possibly his Regional Director, Merrill D. Beal, will push the matter, and it might be expedited. [118]

Planning for the permanent visitor center began in 1977. The Denver Service Center awarded a contract for architectural design to the firm of Rogers-Nagle-Langhart. [119] In the maintenance area, the park initiated bi-weekly monitoring of the monument's water system for bacteria levels, [120] and completed the fence removal program. Agate Fossil Beds' full-time maintenance worker, James Hanson, entered on duty August 14. In interpretation, poor attendance during the weekly summer evening interpretive events resulted in cancellation of the program. [121]

Significant personnel changes occurred in 1978. Don Harper transferred to the position of Superintendent, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, on August 13. Harper was succeeded by Robert L. Burns, former Superintendent of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. Rapier and Hanson remained the two onsite permanent employees. Visitation during the 1978 visitor season found them overburdened even with the assistance of five seasonals and 15 Volunteers In Parks (VIPs). Progress was made on the park's first Resources Management Plan which was submitted for Regional review at year's end. Opal Bradford, from the Rocky Mountain Region's Mining Office, conducted a search of Sioux County records for potential mineral rights inholdings. Concentrating on land inside and adjacent to the monument, "Nothing threatening was found." In maintenance, a new sunscreen for the visitor center trailer's porch began and a new 1,000-gallon fiberglass septic tank and leach field was installed at the permanent Ranger's residence. [122]

His 1975 petition finally bearing fruit, Robert Hunt of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln won a contract to provide a geological/paleontological survey at Agate Fossil Beds. Hunt began work on a geological map indicating fossil-producing sites and a report on the fossil potential of the various geological formations and quarries. Small pit tests were authorized, not large-scale excavation.

Preliminary drawings for the visitor center and administrative complex were also underway in 1978. Richard Strand and Judith Johnson of Harpers Ferry Center visited the Meades at the Agate Springs Ranch to photograph and measure Captain Cook's den for the replica in the proposed visitor center museum. Strand and Johnson discussed the $1,000,000 development project with the Meades who were "appalled" and inspired to initiate another letter-writing campaign to the Nebraska Congressional Delegation. Dr. Grayson Meade objected to the display of life-size models of animals to be found at the fossil beds instead of emphasizing actual specimens. He objected to termination of plans to build an interpretive center into Carnegie Hill. "To exhibit fossils in a visitor center a mile away from the quarries," Meade stated, "would essentially be duplicating what can already be seen in museums across the country." He also questioned whether the bone bed had not already been worked out and if there were sufficient extant deposits to merit an expensive facility. [123]

On February 23, 1978, Midwest Regional Director Merrill Beal responded to Grayson Meade's charges in a letter to Congresswoman Virginia Smith. Beal began with an update on the status of the visitor center:

Development of the visitor center has been slower than earlier projections had indicated. However, planning of the building is now under way in correlation with the developing Interpretive Prospectus. We anticipate that planning will extend through the remainder of Fiscal Year 1978, with construction beginning sometime the following year.

The preliminary cost figure for actual building construction is approximately $600,000. This amount also covers supporting facilities, including administrative office space, first aid room, restrooms and a storage area for the Cook Collection materials. . . .

The interpretive portion of the building will include approximately 600 square feet of floor space for the exhibition of the remarkable Indian artifacts collected by Captain Cook. The paleontology room is planned to be only slightly larger to provide space for utilization of models of prehistoric animals until adequate articulated specimens may be obtained at the fossil quarries.

The small library will contain the Harold J. Cook paleontological library and will remain small enough to eliminate the need for a librarian. A preparation lab will be contained in the building as required by the enabling legislation. [124]

Beal assured Smith the project was cost and space efficient, and questioned Meade's conclusion that the beds were depleted:

The National Park Service [Robert Hunt] has made test excavations in three different locations around the fossil hills for in-situ exhibit purposes and each time have found the fossil bone layer. This indicates that the layers extend throughout the hills.

If Mr. Meade's schedule does not permit his personal involvement, perhaps he would provide the identities of the other geologists who share his theory. The National Park Service certainly wants to ensure that all aspects have been investigated prior to any commitments.

To make the changes suggested by Mr. Meade would involve several more years of delay in the construction of the visitor facilities. While we appreciate Mr. Meade's concern, we feel that the planning done to date is based upon accurate information as to the content of the fossil hills and careful consideration of the most effective way to present the Cook artifact collection to the visiting public. [125]

Acting Regional Director Randall R. Pope sent a similar letter to Grayson Meade on April 14. [126]

A May 1978 Operations Evaluation Report declared the startling news that site planning for the proposed visitor center was in limbo. Team members Hugh Beattie and Tom Weeks of the Midwest Regional Office stated, "It appears that the A&E may have gone to a lot of effort without the necessary direction from the NPS." The firm was asked to return to the drawing board and submit plans on the following problem areas: potential floods of the Niobrara, snow and sanitary waste removal, and the possibility of visitors climbing onto the roof of the building. As for the Cook Collection, it was still stored in three separate areas, the maintenance building at Agate and the Quonset hut and vault at Scotts Bluff. Beattie and Weeks were concerned for the general care and preservation of the collection, specifically the lack of climate, insect, and rodent controls. The operations evaluators recommended Regional Curator John Hunter review the situation. [127]

During 1978 the Midwest Regional Office directorate frequently discussed the question of formal establishment of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Bill Dean, Executive Assistant to the Regional Director, noted:

The possibility of establishing the main portion of the monument now and adding another section later was discussed. It was decided that the piecemeal approach might be undesirable and that there was no really compelling reason to take any action now since nothing would be gained. It was, therefore, decided on July 10, 1978 to give the matter no further consideration for the present. [128]

President Jimmy Carter signed P. L. 95-625, the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, on November 10. Section 101 of Title I provided for increases in development ceilings. Agate Fossil Beds was one of twenty-nine units included. Recognizing the toll of inflation, Section 4 of the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Act of June 5, 1965, was amended by changing the development ceiling at Agate from $1,842,000 to $2,012,000. [129] The $170,000 increase resulted in a tentative Fiscal Year 1981 construction date. [130]

Preliminary drawings for the visitor center/administrative facility were completed in 1979, and construction drawings commenced. Harpers Ferry Center printed the park's handbook. Dr. Robert Hunt completed his study, Report on the Geology and Paleontology of the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Sioux County, Nebraska. The park accomplished several energy conservation projects. Employees planted fifty-one trees, cottonwood, ponderosa pine, and Rocky Mountain juniper, around the headquarters area and the ranger residence to provide a windbreak, shade, and view screen. They replaced the rotted visitor center trailer porch and built a sun shield. Workers placed insulation in the ranger residence's attic and installed a woodburning stove both there and in the maintenance building. Other projects included elevating the ranger residence's access bridge on the Niobrara to mitigate winter ice jams and flooding problems, installing a wheelchair ramp to ensure handicapped access at the visitor center, and initiating a herbarium guide to help visitors identify monument wildflowers. [131]

Regional Curator and Physical Security Coordinator John Hunter inspected the physical plant on April 17. He subsequently developed a Crime Prevention—Physical Security Plan. An immediate result was the installation of heavy-duty padlocks and cylinder deadlocks for the visitor center, maintenance building, and Cook storage room. [132]

Hunter's curatorial findings on the condition of the Cook Collection were particularly ominous. Since the 1960s, only 200 items had received adequate preservation treatment; the remainder of the collection continued to deteriorate, particularly the Cook Papers Collection. He recommended major conservation work on 10,000 items, minor preservation treatment for 30,000 items, and the entire collection be placed in adequate storage conditions. (Subsequently, the park moved the majority of the Cook material, save that in the Scotts Bluff vault or small storage room at Agate, to the Quonset building at Scotts Bluff). Hunter also recommended an inventory of the Cook papers and recataloging according to acceptable standards. The estimated cost was $125,000 over a five-year period. [133]

By far the most negative media coverage in 1979 came from the Lincoln Journal. A June 25 article titled "Agate Fossil Beds Monumental Flop," raked the Park Service over the coals using new Midwest Regional Director Jimmie L. Dunning's own words against him. Statements from the interview with Dunning such as "it is pretty far off the beaten path," "boring," and "don't expect any construction in the foreseeable future" were used to weave a dismal report. The inflated pre-authorization visitation figures compared to the current low figures, the newspaper asserted, proved the fossil beds "have been a monumental flop as a tourist attraction." [134]

The low point of Bob Burns' rather uneventful superintendency was the January 1980 Regional Office announcement that the programmed construction date for the visitor center had been pushed back from Fiscal Year 1981 to 1985. [135] Service promises and assurances offered during Roman Hruska's mid-1970s initiative went by the wayside. With the country in recession and the Federal budget deficit growing, no permanent visitor facilities for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument were in sight.

Failure to achieve progress in development at Agate Fossil Beds was particularly bitter for Roman L. Hruska. "Retired" in Omaha and serving as a consultant to a prominent law firm, Hruska watched the high priority fall back to the bottom of the Park Service list. It was a "great disappointment" for the park's legislative mentor to witness. When asked later if the assurances of 1975-76 were designed to placate him until leaving office, Hruska replied: "I'll have to leave that for your own interpretation. The succeeding events did not comply nor were they in harmony with the representations that were made at the time. The events speak for themselves." [136]



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Last Updated: 12-Feb-2003