A Realistic Prehistoric Trackway National Monument Proposal

Many people and groups are concerned about the proposed Prehistoric Trackways National Monument as proposed in Senate Bill 275. This bill calls for about 5,300 acres of public land to be set aside as a National Monument. We feel that this is an excessive amount of acreage since there has been no other verification, independent of monument proponents, that monument-worthy, significant, paleontological sites exist within this area. The Abo redbeds that the tracks are found in extend for over three hundred miles within the state of New Mexico and these tracks are found throughout this whole region.

We agree that the original trackway discovery was very significant. In fact the 1994 Smithsonian Report describes it as… "one of the most scientifically significant Early Permian tracksites in the world." The report also expressly stated that it was only talking about the less than one acre, discovery site when that statement was made. The report called for protection of the site, but did not call for national monument designation.

Shortly after that report was released, the BLM protected the area with a Research Natural Area (RNA) designation. Although monument proponents insist this is a world-class fossil find, BLM records indicate that only four researchers have come to investigate the site since the establishment of the RNA. The BLM's own paleontologists haven't even investigated the potential sites listed in the 1994 report. Years of continuously searching these sites by monument proponents has not discovered anything nearly as significant as the original discovery site

It is also important to note that the trackways found at the original discovery site were broken up and removed by the monument proponents and are now stored in various museums across the country. Since their removal, no other significant trackways have been discovered at that site or anywhere else within the proposed monument boundaries.

We feel that the proposed monument boundaries are unreasonable, and will unnecessarily limit existing recreational activities on these public lands.

(Click Here for map)

A more realistic monument boundary would include only about 500 acres around the discovery site where the significant discovery was made. Attached is a map showing a proposed boundary that not only protects that site, it also ensure that existing recreational activities elsewhere in the Robledo Mountains are not impacted.

Here are the advantages of an adjusted boundary:

1. Size is not greater than needed.
   • Still protects area where significant trackways were found.
   • Easier to control access.
   • There are no existing roads or trails within proposed area.
   • Does not affect existing recreational uses elsewhere within the Robledo Mountains.
2. Easier to get community support.
3. Existing quarry would continue to operate and discover new trackways without taxpayer expenses.

Since any potential future trackway discoveries are currently buried under hundreds of feet of overburden, it would require massive amounts of taxpayer money to excavate them and deal with the spoils of those excavations. A much better solution is to include the existing quarry (that first exposed these tracks) into the monument and direct that it continues to operate in collaboration with the scientists.. As this operation would continue to uncover any new track bearing layers, scientists would have the opportunity to possibly discover and study new trackways in place, before removing them to museums. They would have to be removed, because once exposed to the elements, they start to decompose and disintegrate rapidly. Funds received from the quarry operation could help fund additional excavations at the discovery site.

 

Once the quarry has finished removing the mountain it is working on, a perfect site would then be available to build a museum and visitors center to display all of the discovered tracks and trackways.

Adjusted boundary would make it easier to get community support

Las Cruces Homebuilders Association also requests more realistic boundary:

 

Informed Citizens Oppose This Bill — During the week of August 14 – 19, 2006, the Las Cruces Sun News ran an informal poll asking readers if they supported the proposed national monument. Over 3000 people responded with 74.5% voting againstit.

A more realistic boundary would remove all opposition to this bill.

Existing quarry would continue to contribute to new discoveries

In 1995, The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science published Bulletin 6, "Early Permian Footprints and Facies". The first article in this bulletin, by Jerry MacDonald, describes why the quarry, or community pit, has been so valuable in the discovery of the trackways:

And, it would have been impossible for anyone (including the author) to know that hidden within the redbed layers of the Robledos lay a veritable trackway bonanza, save by excavation. And, the only ongoing excavation occurring in the area was the unscientific excavation of the upper redbeds in the community pit. Smart collectors were themselves able to "excavate" by proxy by following the bulldozers. As such the quarry operation became the focal point for all trackway hunters, as new layers became exposed by the week.

Recent discoveries (post-1987) of track layers in the main quarry by the author were made in similar manner to those which occurred years earlier when collectors followed behind the bulldozers, and as such mirror the way track collecting had been done prior to 1987 within the quarry. However, years of excavation experience allowed the author to find in situ the productive horizons that were exposed by the quarry operation.

For example, after a search of quarry tailings by the author in 1993 revealed that a significant invertebrate trackway locality had been unearthed by the bulldozers, the precise layers containing the trackways was found in situ by the author. After informing the BLM of this rich spot, excavation work in that area was curtailed.

Unfortunately, as we now know, several good collecting spots found prior to 1987 were destroyed by heavy machinery because these occurrences were never reported to the BLM, and were subsequently quarried out. By contrast, the new track horizons found in the quarry have been saved for research purposes.

New sites were also exposed in the lower quarry in 1993 and 1994 when the BLM allowed a modest quarrying operation to begin. Again, after a debris search by the author pinpointed some good vertebrate trackways, and when the layers themselves were identified, the sites were subsequently closed after the BLM was notified of the discoveries.

The quarry and the scientists could work together by having the non-track bearing overburden that buries the tracks today removed and sold for rock walls. Once the track bearing layers were exposed, the scientists could study and remove the tracks to a museum. It would be a win-win situation.

Conclusion

Opposition to the monument is not because people think the trackways find was not significant. The opposition is to the excessive acreage where no significant finds have been made. A reasonably sized monument would still accomplish all of the things that monument proponents say it will and thousands of people could continue to enjoy the recreation that the Robledo Mountains have to offer.