Parks Stewardship Forum

Like many National Park Service sites, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Nevada has associated off-site legacy paleontological collections in museum repositories across North America. These legacy paleontological collections, which were created during past expeditions, are at risk of becoming forgotten or inaccessible, yet they hold the potential to revisit old questions and old sites utilizing new techniques, methods, and ideas. The authors present a case study that outlines a suggested framework to reconcile problematic or underutilized legacy paleontological collections based on the 2020–2023 inventory of the Southwest Museum Expedition Tule Springs Collection curated at the Autry Museum of the American West. The authors also explore the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach to paleontological resource management. Digitization of associated historic archives and photographs can help assign updated geologic context to unprovenienced fossils, as well as locate historic paleontological sites for conservation and study. Legacy paleontological collections are also artifacts of the time of collection; the cultural context of fossil collections can be just as important as their geologic context. Although new data collection is beneficial for scientific inquiry and science-based natural resource management strategies, the importance of well-understood and accessible legacy paleontological collections for these efforts cannot be overstated. Revisiting these collections can facilitate scientific discovery by providing more accurate and comprehensive data to park staff and researchers. Paleontological and museum management programs and the scientific community will benefit from bridging the past and the present through an interdisciplinary approach.