Back-to-Back Scientific Conferences to be held in Southern Utah May 20-23, 2009

April 17, 2009 - PRLog -- St. George, Utah – Two paleontological conferences will be held at the Dixie Center in St. George in late May.  The conferences will include papers, poster sessions and keynote speakers.

The 8th Conference on Fossil Resources, scheduled for May 20 – 21, will provide an opportunity for public land managers, professional scientists and interested amateurs to come together to discuss successes, discoveries and land management policy to protect and enhance paleontological resources in the USA.  Sessions will cover the following topics:
•   Paleontological research on public lands
•   Permitting and museum collections
•   Partnerships in management and research
•   Law enforcement and fossil protection
•   Education stewardship and public involvement
•   International perspectives

A keynote address on Thursday, May 21, “The History of the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act,” will be presented by Ted J. Vlamis (Executive Committee Member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology), who was instrumental in helping to pass the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act through Congress.

The 8th Conference on Fossil Resources is sponsored and hosted by the Utah Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, Dixie State College, and Utah Friends of Paleontology.  Utah State Paleontologist Dr. James I. Kirkland and BLM Regional Paleontologist Dr. Scott E. Foss are co-chairing the conference.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Cretaceous Conference: Advances in Western Interior Late Cretaceous Paleontology and Geology immediately follows the 8th Conference on Fossil Resources in the same venue.  This two day conference provides a collaborative, interdisciplinary look at the Late Cretaceous record of south-central Utah and North-Central Arizona.  Sessions will include oral and poster presentations from prominent paleontologists and geologists who have been conducting research in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and surrounding regions.  Chairing the conference is Dr. Alan Titus, GSENM Paleontologist.

A closing banquet will be held Saturday, May 23 with a keynote address be presented by Dr. Scott D. Sampson of the Utah Museum of Natural History, University of Utah.  A decade ago, the UMNH and U of U launched the Kaiparowits Basin Project (KBP), a collaborative effort with the BLM to expand understanding of the Western Interior Basin dinosaur fauna.  Dr. Sampson will talk about the extensive findings that have taken place under this collaboration.    

All interested parties are welcome to attend the conferences and banquet (fees apply); for registration information please visit the following websites:

8th Conference on Fossil Resources:  www.8cfr.org
GSENM Cretaceous Conference:  www.learningfromtheland.org/cretaceousconference/

Members of the press are cordially invited to attend; press passes will be available at no charge.  For press registration and session information, please contact:

For 8th Conference on Fossil Resources:
   Elaine Jones
   Utah Friends of Paleontology
   (801) 883-0388
   elaine@ejonespr.com

For GSENM Cretaceous Conference:
   Larry Crutchfield
   Public Relations Officer, BLM
   (435) 691-4310
   larry_crutchfield@blm.org

St. George, Utah is in the southwestern corner of the state and has a regional airport.  Participants also have the option of flying into Las Vegas and taking a shuttle to St. George.  Las Vegas is about 1.5 hours' drive from St. George.