Paleontologists Race Against Time

A clock started ticking the minute a bulldozer driver discovered a fossil dating back more than 50,000 years last October. He was clearing an area for a reservoir above Snowmass Village, high in the Colorado Rockies. What Jesse Steele discovered could be the biggest high-elevation Ice Age fossil preserve.

Now a feverish archaeological dig is underway to unearth as many bones and fossils of animals that became trapped in the thick peanut butter-like mud thousands of years ago. And they have to complete the $1 million project by July 1 when the planned expansion of the reservoir begins.

Partially funded by the newly formed Snowmastadon Fund, the sleepy ski village of Snowmass, Colorado has turned into a scientific wonderland. The Snowmastadon Project, established by the Denver Museum of Science and Nature, the town of Snowmass Village, and the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District, covers the immediate cost of activities related to the fossil excavation at the Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village.

After the bones are dated, studied and cleaned, they will go on exhibit at the museum.

Since the dig began almost a week ago paleontologists are discovering prehistoric relics every day. So far they have found giant animal bones, ivory mastadon tusks and even a claw from a giant ground sloth. SnowMassIceAge.com is the place to go to follow the action as the dig continues. Already the 43 paleontologists at the site have discovered over 300 sizable bones.

But the biggest prize may not be the treasure trove of ancient bones. Kirk Johnson, the curator at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature says, “Believe it or not, scientifically, this lake may give us the first good climate picture in the Rocky Mountains.”