Monday, May 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Fossil protection has off-roaders in bind

BLM closes some heavily used trails where mastodon, other ancient bones were found

Nate Littrell of the Pine Nut Mountain Trails Association and Elayn Briggs, acting manager for the Carson City BLM field office, look at maps of an area south of Gardnerville where an emergency closure of some trails to protect fossils has upset off-road enthusiasts. Inset, the BLM's Mark Struble shows a 3 million-year-old bone fragment from a mastodon found in the Pine Nut Mountains. Tracks from off-road vehicles mark land in the Pine Nut Mountains, where more than 2,300 acres recently were closed to protect fossils and other resources. Ancient river sediments in the area contain a rich collection of fossilized mammals, from mastodons to camels to zebralike horses to an early version of today's rabbit. Nate Littrell, left, and Susan McCabe of the Pine Nut Mountains Trail Association join BLM spokesman Mark Struble in looking at 3 million-year-old bone fragments Thursday in the Pine Nut Mountains south of Gardnerville. Photos by CATHLEEN ALLISON/SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

CARSON CITY -- Seen from a distance, the chalky-colored sedimentary layer of earth found in the Pine Nut Mountains southeast of Gardnerville doesn't look like much.

Crisscrossed by motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle trails, the soft ground is littered with shotgun shells, discarded tires and beer cans.

But the area, inhabited by pinyon pine and juniper and rabbits and quail, is precious ground to paleontologists.

It turns out the layer is an exposed area of what was an ancient route of the nearby Carson River. The 3 million-year-old river sediments contain a rich collection of fossilized mammals, from mastodons to camels to zebralike horses to an early version of today's rabbit.

"This area is very special," said Susan McCabe, an archaeologist with the federal Bureau of Land Management. "These are some of the youngest and rarest vertebrate fossil bearing sediments in the West."

Walk to one of the exposed sediment areas, and the significance of the layer becomes clear. Small pieces of mastodon and ancient horse bone, fossilized from 3 million years ago, litter the ground.

An off-road vehicle rider four years ago drove past a large bone and reported it to BLM officials. It turned out to be the rib bone of a mastodon. Much of the rest of the animal's fossilized remains were excavated and taken to the University of Nevada, Reno for examination.

In addition to the mastodon, an early type of rabbit, a camel and two zebralike horses have been recovered in the area, McCabe said.

"The potential for finding more mastodons is definitely here," she said.

The climate would have been much wetter 3 million years ago, McCabe said.

Along with other BLM officials, McCabe toured a small portion of what is called the Ruhenstroth area of the Pine Nut Mountains on Thursday to show why it needs to be protected.

As part of that effort, 2,340 acres of public land popular with off-roaders has been temporarily closed to motorized vehicles. The closure has not gone over well with some area residents who use the area for recreation. About 200 off-road vehicle users protested the closure on May 1.

Elayn Briggs, acting manager for the Carson City BLM field office, said some routes should reopen shortly. But others will be closed to protect the fossils, she said.

Balancing the need to protect rare or endangered resources with public uses on the agency lands is an ongoing effort throughout the West.

The problems with the Ruhenstroth area are twofold: The paleontological resources are irreplaceable, and the use of the land by nearby residents is increasing with the growing population of the Carson Valley.

The old Ruhenstroth Ranch, a 19th-century pioneer cattle ranch, can be seen to the west, surrounded by new homes that didn't exist a few years ago.

The area has been nominated by the BLM as the Ruhenstroth Paleontological Area of Critical Environmental Concern, because of its importance to paleontologists and the study of the pre-history of the Great Basin.

Nate Littrell, president of the Pine Nut Mountains Trails Association, joined the BLM officials on the field trip. The group, which promotes proper off-road vehicle use, sees both sides of the issue, he said.

"A lot of people are very upset," Littrell said. "The reasonable people understand the closure, but some get very emotional, especially the old-timers."

The group wants access to the closed area reopened but agrees with the need to protect important resources, he said.

Pat Barker, an archaeologist with the BLM, said the real importance of the area is that an entire era can be recreated using the finds at the site because of its size and comprehensiveness.

Fossils often are found in isolation, but the Ruhenstroth area has the potential to allow for a detailed picture of the late Pliocene era, he said. The era runs from about 2 million to 5 million years ago, a very recent time from the perspective of a paleontologist.

At least 10 sites are within the 2,340-acre area identified as having vertebrate fossils, and there may be more.

"Fossils can be preserved for millions of years if they are buried," Barker said. "As soon as they are exposed on the surface, they deteriorate quickly."

That is why some trails that have cut into the fossil sedimentary layer will remain closed.

Howard Schorn, a retired curator from the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California who conducted a survey of the Ruhenstroth area for the BLM in 2002, said by telephone Thursday that the site is worth protecting.

"I think for everybody, fossils kind of turn them on at some point in their lives," he said. "If we can conserve this particular spot, why not do it."

In an e-mail to McCabe on Tuesday, Schorn said some people do get upset when they believe their rights are being infringed, such as with the temporary closure.

But many people believe "this information, this history, is as much a part of our fascinating past, and part of our being, as are such events as those of 1066 A.D. or the first human walk on the moon," Schorn said.

William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066.

Briggs, who said the closed area represents only about 1 percent of the public lands in the Pine Nut Mountains, believes both off-roader interests and the legal requirement to protect the fossil beds will be accommodated.

"I certainly think we can work to keep roads and trails open," she said. "We're not looking to close a lot down. But will they be able to ride through the (fossil beds)? No."