Hell Creek Excavation II 2017 - Passport in Time
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North Dakota - Dakota Prairie Grasslands
Closed! Two Weeks in Hell (...Creek)
Dakota Prairie Grasslands – Medora Ranger District
ND-4350
August 7-12; 13-18, 2017 (including weekends)
Must commit to a minimum of 5 days; may participate in either or both sessions
Welcome back to the Hell Creek Formation! This second ‘paleo’ project will be looking at 65 million-year-old geology to find fossilized plants and animals from when this part of North Dakota was a tropical climate. Once again, we will be walking the landscape searching, documenting, and recording fossils and, in some areas, returning to the excavations of dinosaurs we already discovered during the course of previous projects. But, rest assured, even though this will be the second Paleontology PIT for this District this year, there are still a lot of fossils to discover! Please note: August is hot and typically very dry here. Expect high winds, blowing dust, intense sun, insects…and a lot of fun and comradery. The work is hard, but exhilarating, and we always find something new and unusual! Join us for the heat and high winds, but leave with a smile you’ll have a hard time getting off your face – see you in August!
Number of openings: 30 (15 per session)
Special skills: Must be physically capable of hiking for extended periods over often difficult terrain, and in a variety of weather conditions (mostly hot and dry!); must be physically capable of sustained kneeling/bending/stooping/lifting/standing; previous paleontological/archaeological excavation, survey, mapping, fossil collection/preparation, sketching, photography, and/or fossil (animal and/or plant) identification helpful, but not necessary
Minimum age: 10 years old, under 18 with a responsible adult
Facilities: Base camp is in a remote location, well suited for tents and RVs. There will be a large base camp tent, hot water showers, portable toilets, sun shades, solar and gas generators, and all of the supplies needed for the paleontology work. The Forest Service does not supply drinking water, so please have at least a gallon/day. Bowman (ND) and Baker (MT) are full-service communities with hotels/motels, restaurants, and a full range of other amenities; volunteers responsible for personal camping equipment, food, water (at minimum 1 gallon per person per day!), and daily transportation to base camp (if opting to stay off-site)
Nearest towns: Marmarth, 20 miles; Bowman, 50 miles; Baker, MT 33 miles
Applications due: July 3, 2017
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