It could be a story out of Hardy Boys-era novel: Two young guys go arrowhead hunting, and discover a treasure trove of fossils unlike anything paleontologists have found anywhere else on Earth.
In this case, however, the story really happened. In 1978, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin stumbled upon a big bone protruding from the soil near the Bosque River in Waco, Texas. They had the good sense to dig up the bone and take it to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University.
Scientists at the museum identified the bone’s origin as a Columbian mammoth, an elephant-like mammal that wandered the continent some 68,000 years ago. Where there’s one bone there are bound to be more, so the university organized an expedition and began excavation of the site. By 1990, crews had unearthed the remains of no less than 16 Columbian mammoths.
Wait, there’s more. Over the next seven years, crews uncovered another six mammoths, as well as a prehistoric camel and the tooth of a saber-tooth cat.
Paleontologists now believe that the mammoths were caught here by floodwaters as the Bosque River rose beyond its banks, trapping them in a channel from which they could not escape. They drowned here together, and silts and mud from subsequent floods buried their bodies. Other animals found here may have had the same experience, but thousands of years later.
The 30-year dig has finally come to a close, but these spectacular discoveries could not simply be left to the elements. People with an interest in the site came together to form the Waco Mammoth Foundation, and with the money they raised for the site’s preservation, they constructed a welcome center and dig shelter over some of the site’s most fascinating areas. A suspended walkway allows visitors to cross over and look down into the dig site at the remains below, while a scenic outdoor trail opens the rest of the park to guests.
Thanks to the work of the foundation, Waco Mammoth Site is well on its way to attracting tourists by the thousands. To boost its national and international visibility and maximize its potential as a revenue generator for the area, however, it would benefit from joining the roster of the National Park Service.
That’s why HR 1545, the Waco Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act, is currently awaiting passage in the House of Representatives. The act actually forbids the Department of the Interior from spending any federal funds to further develop, operate, or maintain the site, instead calling for “cooperative management agreements with the University and the City,” as well as a management plan that defines “measures for the preservation of the resources of the Monument” and other administrative tasks.
“Designation of the Monument as a unit of the National Park Systems shall terminate if the Secretary determines that Federal funds are required to operate and maintain the Monument,” the bill dictates. It also forbids the establishment of buffer zones around the monument, a status that would prohibit activities such as mining or drilling for natural resources in the vicinity without federal approval.
While no federal funds will come its way, the national monument designation could attract a steady stream of tourists to the site simply because it’s listed as a unit of the National Park Service. With this possibility in mind, the Waco Mammoth Foundation continues its fundraising for the next phase of its development, which will include expansion of the Welcome Center, improved park amenities, and more parking, according to the foundation’s website.
The bill has been approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources and sent to the House for a vote. To date, no vote has been scheduled. Once it passes the House, the companion bill (S 849) will be taken up in Senate committee as well.
Comments