American paleontologists are relieved. Reserves rich in dinosaur fossils located in Utah (United States), amputated by former President Donald Trump, are once again protected. The skeletons of triceratops will therefore continue to rest quietly while waiting to be discovered.
Joe Biden returned this Friday on a decision of his predecessor. At the end of 2017, Trump had redefined three protected areas, including two in Utah, to make some of the land available for commercial use. Conservationists, native tribes, and many researchers protested against measure.
After the last administration chipped away their protections, today I’m proud to announce the protection and expansion of three of our most treasured national monuments:
– Bears Ears
– Grand Staircase-Escalante
– Northeast Canyons and SeamountsPresident Biden (@POTUS) October 8, 2021
An exceptional region
By canceling it, Joe Biden notably restored the national site of Grand Staircase-Escalante to its initial dimensions, ie 7,500 km² instead of 4,000. “Grand Staircase is world famous,” said Jim Kirkland, a paleontologist. They had excluded areas that are dear to me, that I had discovered. I feared they might be damaged. “
Nearly 10% of the dinosaurs discovered in the world come from Utah, specifies the paleontologist who notably discovered Utahraptor in the 1990s. For experts, few regions come close to these rocky mountains with ocher and pink shades . During the Upper Cretaceous (100 to 66 million years ago), just before the extinction of the dinosaurs, all kinds of animals were found there.
Mineral resources are a problem
The diversity, abundance of bones buried in the region and the quality of their preservation continue to amaze researchers. To precisely define a new species, a few scattered vertebrae are not enough. You need different parts of the skeleton, and several specimens, if possible of different ages.
But the land is also rich in mineral resources, such as coal. And all this space is also of interest to breeders or the tourism industry. According to Joe Sertich, another paleontologist, different interests may coexist, but classifying land as “public” instead of “protected” puts many resources at risk. “When you operate a coal mine, […] many fossils are lost forever, ”he notes.
“Every time you spend two weeks in the field, you find one or two new species. It’s unlike any other place in the world, adds Joe Sertich. At this point, we’ve named a dozen new dinosaurs. And in labs like this, we’re working on 10-15 new species from Grand Staircase. “
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