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Presenter proposes college-led fossil field course in Glendive coordinated with Museum of the Rockies
Summary
A presenter offered a dual-enrollment field course that would catalog landfill fossils through the Museum of the Rockies, citing educational and tourism benefits; committee members raised questions about museum authority, potential sales of specimens, and next steps to forward materials to council.
A presenter introduced a proposal for fieldwork at the Glendive landfill to recover and catalog fossil specimens and to offer a field-based course for community-college and high-school students. The presenter said he contacted the Museum of the Rockies to coordinate digs and avoid conflicts with the museum's active dig sites, and proposed the museum act as a repository with Smithsonian-style cataloging.
The committee discussed competing views: some members emphasized educational benefits and tourism potential, while one participant argued fossils are a local resource that could be sold. Committee members noted past annual arrangements with museums, asked whether any long-term contract exists, and pressed for clarity about ownership and legal authority; the transcript records references to "state law" and "federal law" but no specific statutes were cited in the meeting.
The presenter described the course design (typically one week in the classroom and one week in the field), dual-enrollment for local high school and community-college students, and plans to catalog finds so future instructors and students can continue the work. He offered to provide slides and a written summary to the committee; members agreed to have those materials forwarded to the full city council for consideration.
Quotes: "So they will act as a repository for any fossils that they discover there that they're not going to use in their ... to Museum of the Rockies," the presenter said, describing the museum's role in cataloging specimens.
Committee discussion noted concerns about sale of specimens: one participant said, "Why aren't we selling them... you can legally sell them," while others pushed back, citing educational uses and museum stewardship.
Next steps: presenter to send slides and a summary; committee to forward materials to the full council to consider a formal authorization or policy if needed.
