National Park Service

The National Park Service expresses its appreciation to all those persons who made the preparation and production of this handbook possible. The Service also gratefully acknowledges the financial support given this handbook project by the Oregon Trail Museum Association, a nonprofit group that assists interpretive efforts at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

Texts

James R. and Laurie J. Macdonald, authors of “A Landscape Rich With Life” in Part 2, are paleontologists who live in Sunnyvale, California, and teach nearby.

Doris B. Gates, writer of “Birding Along the Niobrara” in Part 3, is a retired biology professor who lives in Chadron, Nebraska.

Maps

Illustrations

U.S. Department of the Interior

The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

Agate Fossil Beds

Through the remains of animals long extinct, excavated here at this site, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument tells the story of the Miocene Epoch—the Age of Mammals—that occurred 5 to 23 million years ago. The scene on the front cover is from a mural by artist Jay H. Matternes that depicts animals of the Early Miocene.

Transcriber’s Notes

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