Can BLM Protect Fossils on Public Land?
BLM managers and scientists realize that fossils exist in many locations in Nevada and that varied public needs and uses make it impractical to intensively manage all federal public land just to preserve the fossil record. However, a 2,340 acre area has been identified south of Fish Springs Road in the southwestern portion of the Pine Nut Mountains of Douglas County that contains unique fossils that are an important slice of the paleontological history of the western Great Basin in Nevada. There are at least 10 major paleontological zones within this area, known locally as Ruhenstroth, and the potential to identify other sites within this Tertiary sedimentary horizon is high. Ancient animals that lived here during the Pliocene Era (roughly 2.5 million years ago), and whose fossil remains have been identified, include large, extinct species of camels and horses, mastodons, sloths, zebras, otters, wild dogs, and various small mammals and fish. The fossil vertebrate remains were generally
