Collecting and preparing fossils in 1925

This great film distributed by the National Museum of Canada depicts the collection, preparation, and mounting of several ceratopsian dinosaurs from Alberta, Canada. The video shows field crews setting up camp, prospecting, making Marsh picks, and blasting overburden from what looks to be the same Anchiceratops (NMC 8547) collected by Charles Sternberg's crew in 1925 that closes the end of the clip. I'm not familiar enough with this material to say for sure, but the frame could be flipped left for right, hopefully someone with enough knowledge of the localities and personnel can correct this if wrong.

Once the specimens are jacketed, loaded onto wagons, and hauled back to the museum, preparation in the laboratory begins. We see fossils in the process of consolidation and repair, as well as armatures being constructed for mounts.

This is a film without audio, I start it by listening to Fats Waller's "Inside," and follow up with Duke Ellington. Your mileage may vary. 

Collections position at Tyrrell

The incredible Royal Tyrrell Museum is hiring a Collections Assistant position, more information is available at this link.

The Burke has a new collections management job posting

Burke Museum - Paleontology Collections Manager

The University of Washington Burke Museum invites applications for the
full-time position, collections manager of paleontology. The museum, located
on the university campus in Seattle, is a repository for research
collections and has substantial exhibit and K-16 outreach programs.
Currently the division includes three curators, one full-time collections
manager, one full-time fossil preparator, and more than 20 adjunct curators
and research associates. Paleontological collections at the Burke Museum are
actively growing and include more than three million specimens distributed
in several subdisciplines: vertebrate paleontology, paleobotany (including
pollen and phytoliths), invertebrate paleontology, and micropaleontology.
Smaller collections of minerals and meteorites are also included in the
divisional holdings. 

The successful candidate will assist the curators in day-to-day operations.
Specific responsibilities include: managing collections budgets, including
ordering supplies and equipment; scheduling and monitoring of visiting
researchers; processing loans; processing new acquisitions; maintaining lab
and field equipment; preparing collections-related grants, permits, and
subsequent reports; training and supervising volunteers and students;
managing digital resources, including the digitization of collections data
and its dissemination on the internet. In addition, educational
responsibilities include facilitating use of the collections in
undergraduate and graduate courses as well as in exhibit and public
programs.

Here is the link:
http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs//
UW req #98464

New Position in New Mexico

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History is hiring a Museum Technician and Conservator position, more info and the listing here:

Purpose of PositionThe position exists as part of the Museum's legislative mandate to develop and maintain a collection of New Mexico natural history, in this case is a collection of fossils, rocks and minerals. This position will be responsible for handling over 70,000 fossils, rocks and minerals. The Museum currently has a collection of this kind that numbers nearly 70,000 cataloged specimens. The maintenance of this collection is essential to Museum mission and to maintain AAM accreditation. This position will oversee the care of the entire collection and keep active and current records (especially its computer databases) and to participate in collection related public programs, education outreach and lectures. This position will work with, and monitor the work of volunteers, adjuncts and interns in the preparatory fossil area and while conducting research studies in the collections.

AMNH fossil preparator position

Reposted from the vrtpaleo mailing list:


 

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

NOTICE OF JOB OPENING

Date:  08/01/2013


Job Title:  Preparator (Paleontology)


Responsibilities & Duties:
The responsibilities and duties of the position include preparation and restoration of vertebrate fossils, especially detailed microscope-based anatomical preparation, using a full range of mechanical and chemical methods; creating molds and casts; assisting in laboratory operations, and other divisional tasks as assigned.


Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience (typically at least 4 years of specimen or exhibit preparation) required.  Demonstrated high level of professional skill, innovation, and cooperativeness. Outstanding manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination, attention to detail, and patience. Knowledge of vertebrate anatomy useful. Good organizational, excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work independently.


Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in life sciences plus at least one full year of practical experience in preparation, molding and casting.


Interested parties should apply online:
careers.amnh.org/applicants/Central?quickFind=51006 


Applications must be received no later than September 13, 2013

Applications cannot be accepted via email or snail mail

**Please Note: Due to the volume of applications, we are not able to respond to email inquires regarding the status of an application**


The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since it’s founding in 1869, the
Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret and
disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the
universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education
and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present
a panorama of the world's cultures.

The America
 Employer. The Museum does not discriminate due to age, sex, religion, race, color,
national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual
orientation, or any other factor prohibited by law. Qualified candidates
of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply for
vacant positions at all levels. Please be advised that due to the high
volume of applicants, we are only able to contact those candidates whose
skills and background best fit the needs of the open position.


Ruth O'Leary
Director of Collections, Archives and Preparation
Division of Paleontology
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West @ 79th Street
New York
NY 10024

Expanding the conversation on casual collecting on Federal lands

This post is in response to a thoughtful comment left by an invertebrate paleontologist by the name of Phil on my previous post regarding The Paleontological Society's reaction to proposed USFS policy for managing paleontological resources. Read his comment first.

I do appreciate that there is a difference in the scale or scope of some vert vs. non-vert collecting. I have dug several-meter wide quarries and excavated sauropod dinosaurs, disrupting an enormous amount of overburden in the process. I've also certainly spent my share of hours crawling across outcrop collecting tiny nodules hoping for primate teeth. In that case the results of two weeks of prospecting fit into a quart sized baggie. That the fossils were wee, or that my actions were relatively non-invasive does not constitute casual collecting. The method of collection or quantity collected is not the point, and neither is your attitude while collecting. The law speaks to the use of the material. Research collecting vs. hobbyist collecting is the distinction to make, "casual" does not mean "not that difficult."

To reiterate, the land agencies are tasked with resource management, they must balance needs for science, conservation, recreation, and commercialization. Certainly the type of excavation required for megafauna has more potential to impact natural resources and make land managers nervous. However, compliance with laws like NEPA and ARPA is only part of the reason that Federal agencies want to know what researchers are up to in the field- they learn more about the resources in their care through the processes of permitting, annual reporting, and subsequent publication. Also, the agencies have to report to Congress letting them know what kind of job their staff are doing managing that land. They can additionally help coordinate or facilitate research projects, when they know they are going on.

One vertebrate paleontologist collecting and reporting under a research permit will be interacting with agency land managers, communicating about their findings, receiving in some cases material help in the form of volunteers, vehicular support, or funding, and in the process is educating the government employees about the scientific value of their study area. Joint press releases are even released sometimes, highlighting the partnership. One hundred invertebrate paleontologists collecting under "casual use" provisions will receive none of this attention, so maybe it is no wonder that non-vert paleo is underfunded/recognized.

The final and most important point is this- the current USFS proposal is restating past regulations in compliance with the new PRPA law. There is nothing new about the content. I acknowledge that Phil was commenting from his perspective only, but if invertebrate paleontologists feel like regulations about research permitting on public lands is some fresh new hell, then there is certainly more misinformation circulating than I'd feared. In the words of the U.S. Forest Service:
"Failure to obtain a special use permit for research violates Forest Service Policy and Federal environmental regulations, and may jeopardize completion of the research."

The Paleontological Society on casual collecting

-->

Perhaps we should take up a collection to buy The Paleontological Society a dictionary. They seem to be very confused. Look, I’m never surprised by the inability of scientists to critically evaluate data on issues that hit close to home. We’re human, after all. But I’d hope that an international scientific association would take the time to do some basic homework before sending out a message to its membership recommending comments on draft Federal policies. 

Let me back up. 

There has been a great deal of debate in recent days over proposed policy for paleontological research on US Forest Service land, most of it measured and well thought out  (e.g. here, here, here). By contrast, I’m going to pick on one group here, setting aside measured commentary. The Paleontological Society calls out several sections of the policy that “could have significant implications for research practices.” One of those is centered on a policy requiring that "common invertebrate and plant paleontological resources collected for research purposes . . . would need to be authorized under a permit in accordance with Sec. 291-13 through 291.20." The Paleontological Society says “This would seem to place a higher burden on professional paleontologists… than on casual collectors of fossils…” 

Well, no shit. I’ll also set aside the snark from the intro regarding donations of dictionaries, and I won’t bother pointing out that collection for research is by definition NOT casual collecting and violates both Federal regulations and scientific standards (see the law: Subtitle D, Sec 6301(1), and an example of how it would be implemented in policy: 291.11 (c)). Instead, I’ll speak to those standards. It would seem to me that scientists, through a system of research ethics, inherently bear a higher burden of documentation and rigor than a casual collector or hobbyist. Isn’t that what makes the whole show science to begin with? The USFS already has policy in place regarding research permits; this FAQ does a great job of explaining many of the reasons that such policies exist. To sum it up though, Federal agencies bear the responsibility of resource management, and have to balance numerous competing needs as custodians. Additionally, they know quite a bit about the resources under their control, and are interested in learning more through reciprocal exchanges of information with content specialists. Permits are one of the best mechanisms for agencies to understand how their resources are being used and studied, as well as tools to track the location of the specimens THAT THEY OWN. This information is necessary for the agencies to manage their resources properly. Unwillingness to ask permission from the custodians of the land to collect specimens and complete reports on the work done on that land and with the resources is both selfish and unethical. If a scientist can't plan their work in way that complies with law and ethics, and if they can't communicate that work to stakeholders, they probably aren't doing very good science to begin with. 

As an example, let's randomly select an organization responsible for promoting the science of paleontology, say, The Paleontological Society, and examine their core documents. Turns out, the first two tenets in their Code of Fossil Collecting state: 

"The Society therefore adopts the following practices associated with the collection and curation of fossils:

1. Prior notification will be made and permission or appropriate permits will be secured from landowners or managers of private or public lands where fossils are to be collected.

2. All collections will be in compliance with federal, tribal in the case of Native American lands, state, and municipal laws and regulations applied to fossil collecting."

I support the Society’s instruction to members that “comments on both draft regulations should be constructed carefully, keeping in mind that the agencies are required to prepare these regulations in conformance with their mandates for resource protection and in compliance with the wording of the PRPA law.*” I would also suggest that they read the Society’s own policies, and maybe their notes from junior high regarding the nature of the scientific method.  

* Emphasis mine

Job listing- The Natural History Museum of Utah

Posted on behalf of Randy Irmis-

The Natural History Museum of Utah is currently searching for the position of fossil preparator/lab manager.  This is a full-time permanent position with full benefits.  The search closes on July 26, and more details can be found here: https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/24731

Dr. Wann Langston, Jr. (1921-2013)

Last night we lost one of the most influential paleontologists of the 20th century, Wann Langston, Jr.

Wann’s lifelong fascination with fossils spans nine decades; his influence on the field of vertebrate paleontology will undoubtedly last for generations to come. From the age of four, Dr. Langston was captivated by ancient life, and spent a childhood in the pursuit and reconstruction of vertebrate skeletons. Spending much of his formative years visiting museums, he met many of the influential paleontologists of the time, and gained entry early into the study of fossils. Volunteering in a paleontology laboratory preparing fossils during his teenage years, he participated in his first scientific collecting trip at the age of 17, joining a team from the University of Oklahoma in the Big Bend of Texas. After graduating with a BS in Geology from the University of Oklahoma, he served in the United States Navy, returning to the University of Oklahoma at the end of World War II for an MS under J. Willis Stovall. After teaching for a few years at Texas Technological College, in Lubbock, Texas, he entered the Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley to study the Permian amphibians of New Mexico with Charles Camp, completing his degree in 1952. Wann remained there as a lecturer and Chief Preparator until 1954, when he moved to Ottawa to assume the position of Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the National Museum of Canada. Nine years later, he trekked to The University of Texas at Austin, where he subsequently spent 50 years contributing to the world’s knowledge of fossil reptiles. His research spanned many groups of animals, and he is widely known for his work on North American dinosaurs, Permian amphibians, and North and South American crocodilians. Dr. Langston's fieldwork continued to expand the collections at UT, and he was responsible for many of the public displays of dinosaurs and other fossil reptiles exhibited

Wann with his panel mount of Dilophosaurus weatherilli at Berkeley.

throughout Texas. His paleontological legacy consists of field collections, skeletal reconstructions, an unparalleled personal library, and over 100 publications, as well as innumerable students and colleagues that have been touched by his knowledge and skills. Specimens that he collected or mounted can be viewed at the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Museum of Texas Tech University, Big Bend National Park, among many others institutions around the United States and around the world.

Wann was a multi-talented individual, comfortable in the field, preparation lab, classroom, research office, and welding shop.  I have had the privilege of working with Wann in the lab over the four years that I've been at UT, and I have learned an enormous amount from him. I'm going to miss Wann very much.