Even though Tourism is a major industry within the Dinosaur Diamond region, the dinosaur, fossil and archaeological resources, geological and natural resources available within the Dinosaur Diamond region provide many opportunities for educators to access resources. This section is provided as a service to teachers who are continually striving to provide their students with creative learning experiences.
The national monuments, parks, recreation areas, forests, and public resource areas, towns and school districts within the dinosaur diamond support a tremendous educational infrastructure.
Resource Links
Explorations Through Time - A series of interactive modules that explore the history of life on Earth, while focusing on the processes of scirnce. Each module contains suggested lesson plans and an extensive teacher's guide
Dinosaurs - A lesson plan link from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, a nonprofit education research, development and dissemination corporation. Topics include 'Long Ago', 'Extinction', 'Fossils', 'types of Dinosaur', 'Meat & Plant Eaters', 'The Dinosaur Life Cycle', and 'Nature & Change'
Dinosaur -Fact & Fiction - Link to USGS, science for a changing world. "From a scientific viewpoint the study of dinosaurs is important both for understanding the causes of past major extinctions of land animals and for understanding the changes in biological diversity caused by previous geological and climatic changes of the Earth".
Dinosaur Dig - Courtesy of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This Link has six (6) interactive lessons and activities for students. Topics include - 'Name that Reptile!', Dinosaur Bytes', Meteors and Mass Extinction', 'Finding Fossils, and 'Jurassic Jumble'
National Parks Service - This page provides educational resources and links for teaching geology with National Park examples.
BLM - HeritageEducation Teachers Page
The stories of many Native American Tribes, the fascinating hisory of westward expansion and some of the most important dinosaur and fossil specimens can be found on the 260 million acres of BLM administered lands. This link is for teachers wanting to expose their students to a wealth of America's cultural and scientific heritage.
Busy Teachers Website (K-12) - Teachers may want to direct students toward certain sites as part of their lesson plan. The sites are not classified by grade level since many sites have several components (i.e., pictures, text, sounds, etc). Some components may be quite appropriate for elementary students (e.g., pictures, sounds), while text in the same site may be at a high school level. As part of the annotation for each site, you will find notation as to site components, i.e., text, pictures, audio, etc.
Geological Society Of America - The mission of GSA is to be a leader in advancing the geosciences, enhancing the professional growth of its members, and promoting the geosciences in the service of humankind. Earth Science education is at the core of the National Education Standards. The Society is dedicated to increasing the appreciation of the Earth's history, processes, and resources.
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers - established in 1938. Its purpose is to foster improvement in the teaching of earth sciences at all levels of formal and informal instruction, to emphasize the cultural significance of the earth sciences and to disseminate knowledge in this field to the general public.
Dinosaurs & Dinosaur National Monument Teachers Resource Packet - provided through Intermountain Natural History Association - a private, non-profit 501(c)(3)organization created to aid the educational and scientific activities of the National Park Service at Dinosaur and Fossil Butte national monuments, the U.S. Forest Service at the Ashley, Wasatch-Cache, and Uinta national forests, and the Bureau of Land Management at the John Jarvie Ranch Historic Site. The profits from all bookstore sales are donated back to these public lands.
Need For Protection
Of all the intrinsic resources along the Dinosaur Diamond, dinosaur, fossils and rock art are most in need of protection. Simultaneously they are the most important intrinsic resources and the most easily damaged or removed. Fossils and artifacts in museums are afforded protection by virtue of their exhibition. Field fossils and rock art sites easily are subject to damage or theft. Rock art is particularly susceptible to graffiti, especially where it is easy to reach.
Protection of field resources is an ongoing management issue as many sites have been identified-but not "hardened" or prepared for public visitation. The problem is compounded by the fact that the locations of many of these sites are known, visitation is occurring, and in some cases tour operators are promoting these visits.
Archaeological and historical sites are protected under the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Archaeological Resources Act of 1979. The newer act provides stiffer penalties, plus a reward program for information that leads to a conviction. These laws apply to all undeveloped and developed areas. More restrictive laws may apply to areas of high visitation or special management. These, as well as other protection laws are cited below. The BLlvl provides a Law Enforcement Hotline (800) 722-3998 encouraging people to report damage or theft of dinosaur or archaeological resources.
"Please Help Us Protect This Rock Art for Future Generations by Not Touching It"
Don't Let This Happen Again
The protection of Native American cultural resources and sites also is important. The Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act provides one level of protection-but it does not address other valued resources also requiring protection on tribal reservations.
- Archaeological Resources Protection Act, 1979 (P.L. 56-95; 93 Stat. 721; 16 U.S.C. 470)
- Antiquities Act, 1906 (P.L. 59-209; 34 Stat.225; 16 U.S.C. 423, 433)
- Theft of Government Property . (62 Stat. 725; 18 U.S.C. 641)
- Destruction of Government Property (62 Stat. 764; 18 U.S.C. 641)
- Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act, 1990 (P.L. 601; 25 U.S.C. 3001-3013; 104 Stat. 3048-3058)
The Bureau of Land Management has requested evaluation of the paleontological sensitivity of all geologic formations included on Bureau of Land Management lands involved in land use planning. These mandates are outlined in the following laws and rulings:
- Historic Sites Act of 1935 (RL. 74-292; 49 Stat. 666, 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.);
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (P.L. 91-190; 31 Stat. 852, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4327);
- Federal land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-579; Stat. 2743. U.S.C. 1701-1782);
Similar guidelines also are outlined by Utah and Colorado State laws and regulations regarding paleontological resource protection:
- Utah State Antiquities Act Chapter 18 of the Utah Code, Section 63-18-25 through 28, amended 1973, 1977, 1983, and 1986;
- Colorado CRS 1973, 24-80-401 through 409.
Protect Our Treasures Forever
"Please Help Us Protect This Rock Art for Future Generations by Not Touching It"
"Leave No Trace" and " Leave Only Footprints"
People also need to know the breadth of protection needed, for example chalk tracing rock art or smoke from campfires near rock art is destructive.
Remember ... Archaeological and geological resources are non-renewable
Tread Lightly!® is a nonprofit organization whose mission is “To empower generations to enjoy the outdoors responsibly through education and restoration.”
In 1985, the US Forest Service launched the Tread Lightly! program as a means of addressing concerns about the impacts from increasing numbers of visitors to the great outdoors for recreational purposes. In 1990, to maximize the program’s effectiveness, management responsibilities were transferred to the private sector, making Tread Lightly! an apolitical, not-for-profit organization.
Tread Lightly! is funded by donations from individual members, corporations, dealerships, clubs, retailers and other organizations interested in spreading the message of responsible and ethical use of the outdoors. Federal Partners include the National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Army Corps of Engineers.
Dinosaur Diamond Partnership
The region's vast resources are known and loved by an extensive public and private sector partnership committed to leveraging combined efforts to the benefit of all-present and future.
Please take some time to visit our partnerships websites for more information.
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