What happens when visitors steal all the fossils in a national monument?
Once upon a time, in the early 20th century, scientists heralded South Dakota’s Fossil Cycad National Monument as a national treasure. It harbored some of the greatest concentrations of Cretaceous-era cycadeoid fossils on the planet. Some were even preserved to a near-cellular level, and scientists believed they held the secrets to the origins of flowering plants.
But over the years, the fossils disappeared. Some were lifted by visitors and locals; Others were filched by the scientists themselves, who transported them to East Coast collections like Yale. The facts remain murky, but what’s sure: Fossil Cycad lost everything. With all of its surface fossils gone, it was officially erased from the National Park Service system in 19557 and was promptly forgotten.
Now, an enterprising paleontologist is uncovering the story of Fossil Cycad National Monument with some detective work, and what he’s discovering is helping some public-land managers rethink how they protect sensitive, priceless resources that are easily—and frequently—lifted by visitors. Read my full story, “The Heist: How Visitors Stole a National Monument,” in Pacific Standard’s September/October issue.