Conservation Paleobiology and the Stewardship of U.S. National Park Service Paleontological Resources

Abstract

Conservation biology, and the descendent discipline conservation paleobiology, are philosophically aligned with the mission of the National Park Service (NPS), including near time and deep time frameworks. As defined in the Organic Act of August 25, 1916, the purpose and mission of the NPS is “…to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”. This conservation mandate is broadly inclusive of grizzly bears, redwood trees, and dinosaur bones equally, throughout the 424 officially designated parks, monuments, and other areas managed by the NPS. Although conservation paleobiology is reported by some to be a new and integrated field of study, there are remarkable similarities to traditional and old school perspectives which embraced natural history more holistically during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Notably, the written contributions by Charles Darwin, Aldo Leopold, and Edward Abbey synthesize observations at the global and landscape scales, promoting conservation advocacy of the natural world, past and present. U.S. National Park Service areas preserve some of Planet Earth’s most globally significant natural resources, ecological systems, and biosphere reserves. Discoveries of fossil condors and mummified bats within caves of Grand Canyon National Park, the co-occurrence of human and megafaunal footprints preserved in Late Pleistocene strata at White Sands National Park, and pygmy mammoth remains on Channel Islands National Park, collectively demonstrate how valuable temporal and historical biological perspectives contribute to science, stewardship, and resources management in parks and beyond. The paleobiology community is cordially invited to join in the holistic study and conservation of the near time and deep time resources in the national parks.