Date: August 24, 2017
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
TULE SPRINGS FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT News Release
For Immediate Release: August 24, 2017
Release No.: 2017-4
Contact: 702-283-2344
DIANE KEITH SELECTED AS SUPERINTENDENT OF TULE SPRINGS FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
SAN FRANCISCO – The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Diane Keith to serve as superintendent of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Las Vegas.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument was established in 2014 to conserve a collection of fossils that are up to 200,000 years old. Keith will officially begin her role at the national monument in September.
“Diane is a strong leader with a track record of excellence i
n planning and engagement with partners,” said Laura Joss, NPS Pacific West Regional Director. “Her diverse experience and collaborative approach are exactly what is needed as we continue to set the foundation for this new park.”
Keith comes to the monument from Omaha, Nebraska, where she is currently the Regional Partnerships Coordinator for the NPS Midwest Regional Office and is the point of contact for technical and policy assistance on donations, philanthropy and partnerships management.
“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to work at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument,” said Keith. “Who doesn’t have an inner child that gets excited about thousands of Ice Age fossils including mammoths, bison, sabertooth lions, camelops and sloths the size of sports cars? I look forward to working with the people who recognize its irreplaceable value and worked so hard to get the monument designation, and to exploring, protecting and sharing with the public this world-class site that uncovers layers of paleo history and reveals stories about extinction and survival.”
In her 26 years working for the NPS, Keith has been an Acting Superintendent at both Nicodemus National Historic Site in Kansas and Arkansas Post National Memorial in Arkansas, and worked as a Community Planner in the Midwest Region Division of Planning and Compliance. From 1991 to 1996, she worked in the Planning and Legislative Affairs Division and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program in the NPS Northeast Regional Office in Boston, Massachusetts.
Prior to coming to Omaha, Keith was a Landscape Architect and Project Manager for 14 years in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (now National Park) from 1996 to 2010. Early in her career, she worked as a State Park Law Enforcement Ranger and State Park Interpreter in Colorado and Massachusetts, an Environmental Educator in Huguenot, New York teaching schoolchildren from the New York City area and a Teacher / Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society in the metro Boston area. She has a Masters in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Recreation / Environmental Interpretation from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Keith has two daughters, Molly (25) and Delaney (20). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her daughters, volunteering at animal shelters, paddling, hiking, hanging out with her dog Bleu, working in stained glass and doing improvisational comedy.
Keith succeeds the first superintendent of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Jon Burpee, who became Superintendent at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon and Washington.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument was established as the 405th unit of the National Park Service Dec. 19, 2014. It was established to conserve, protect, interpret and enhance for the benefit of present and future generations the unique and nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational and recreational resources and values of the land.” The monument is 22,650 acres and is located just north of Las Vegas, Nevada. It stretches along U.S. Highway 95 north of Aliante and Centennial Hills to Creech Air Force Base.
The geological deposits in the park go back at least 300,000 years. Paleontologists have discovered megafauna fossils dating between 100,000 to 13,000 years ago, including the Columbian Mammoth, extinct horses, camels and bison, and the dire wolf. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/tusk.
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