big pig dig: Integrating paleontological research and visitor education at Badlands National Park, South Dakota, The

Journal of Geoscience Education, May 2003 by Benton, Rachel

ABSTRACT

A paleontological field discovery known as the Big Pig Dig has developed into a significant visitor education and research site. Between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors stop by the site each summer. The site contains many visitor facilities, including a site shelter, wayside exhibit, site bulletin, demonstration casts and a visitor interpretation program. These are useful tools for communicating to the public, the importance of protecting paleontological sites and promoting paleontological research. Site excavation, documentation and visitor interpretation, are completed by park staff and geology students enrolled at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and other Universities around the United States. The namesake for the site, an ancient pig-like mammal called Archaeotherium, is preserved along with horn-less rhinoceros, the three-toed horse and several other early mammals. Both paleontological and sedimentological evidence indicates that the Pig Dig was a watering hole. The site has provided a significant amount of information on a unique depositional environment preserved within the Oligocene White River Badlands of western South Dakota.

INTRODUCTION

In 1993, two park visitors discovered one of the more significant paleontological finds in recent years at Badlands National Park. They notified the park's paleontology staff and directed them to a site containing a complex assemblage of beautifully preserved mammal bones. Now informally called the Pig Dig", the site contains early rhinoceroses, three-toed horses, small deer-like mammals, saber-tooth cats, and a large pig-like mammal called Archaeotherium.

Since 1993, paleontologists have uncovered thousands of fossil bones that have provided insight about the environment, in which these animals lived and died more than 33 million years ago. Badlands National Park and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology jointly excavate, prepare, curate and study specimens collected from this site. This site is an excellent tool used to educate the public as well as providing on-site training to students interested in vertebrate paleontology.

During the field season, paleontology interns are onsite seven days a week to interpret the research findings to visitors. National Park Service employees use the term "visitor interpretation" to describe the process of communicating ideas about park resources to the general public. Park staff developed a Pig Dig Wayside Exhibit and a site bulletin describing the site in non-technical terminology. An addition last field season included a cast of an Archaeotherium skeleton that was visible to visitors when they entered the site (Figure 1). A mural depicting the paleoecology of the site will be on display in the near future. The construction of a new site shelter in 2000 allowed for increased excavation time and sun protection for the field crew and park visitors. A smaller shelter located to the north of the main work area provides workspace for demonstrating onsite fossil preparation. The site is located directly adjacent to a maintained gravel road and picnic area so it is easily accessible to the public and to researchers (Figure 2).

INTERPRETING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT THE PIG DIG SITE

Between 5,000 and 10,000 park visitors visit the site each summer. The Pig Dig is a favorite stop for professional paleontologists and their students. Many specialists enjoy sharing ideas with the field crew. It also provides a leisurely stop for park visitors if they would like to spend the time talking one on one with a site researcher. Many visitors appreciate the authenticity of the site. They recognize that actual research occurs at the site and it is not simply a reconstruction. At present, all visitor surveys completed at the site have been based on informal discussions between visitors and park staff. The 2002 visitor satisfaction survey for Badlands National Park indicated that 88% of park visitors understand the significance of Badlands National Park as a national resource. Sixty percent of the visitors surveyed listed geology as a nationally significant resource at Badlands (FY 2002 Visitor Satisfaction Survey). It appears that visitor programs at the Pig Dig help reinforce these important concepts.

One of the greatest challenges is to excavate fossils in a careful and accurate manner and at the same time, effectively interpret information to the park visitor. Due to their complexity, fossil excavations at the Pig Dig often require great concentration with few interruptions. Park interns and volunteers were recruited to provide information to park visitors during core visitation hours (Figure 3). This allowed the excavation crew to work continuously without interruption. Occasionally, a visitor would ask a difficult question that would stump the site interpreter and an excavator would need to be consulted. The park hires interns and volunteers through the Student Conservation Association and the Geo Corps Program managed by the Geological Society of America. Many site interpreters are undergraduate geology majors who wish to focus in paleontology. They often return to the site on their days off to assist the paleontological field team and develop their excavation skills (Suarez, 2002).