Parks Stewardship Forum

In recent years the discovery of paleontological and archaeological resources exposed because of natural disasters and rapid erosion—mostly linked to climate change—has occurred at a phenomenal rate. Each year wildfires, floods, landsides, retreating glaciers, snow melt, soil erosion, and receding lakes and reservoirs are uncovering valuable resources. Unfortunately, these same forces often lead to the loss of these resources before they can be preserved or documented. At White Sands National Park, as moisture within the soil is being reduced by persistent droughts and rising temperatures, 23,000-year-old fossil prints of people and Ice Age megafauna are being exposed—and then rapidly lost to soil erosion. Consequently, there is an urgent need to document the fossil prints before the record is lost. This is a concern not only for White Sands, but also for dry lake beds throughout the Southwest and around the world where fossil prints may not have yet been discovered but are rapidly being lost. At White Sands, we are working with an impressive team of experts to develop techniques to rapidly document these resources. The fossil resources at White Sands provides an important analogue for understanding other pluvial systems throughout the world.