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Recently excavated mammoth tusk on display in Prineville BLM office
A mammoth tusk found eroding from a stream bank near Mitchell
in May 1988 by Merle. Sandra, and Devin Simmons of Eugene (see
cover photo) has been placed on prominent display in the lobby of
the Prineville District Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). Merle, a dental technologist, suspected that the rather strange
looking white material was ivory from a tooth and alerted the John
Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The staff there passed a sample
and the information from Simmons along to BLM. Through an interagency
agreement, the Park Service helped prOiect the tusk by
applying glues to the weathered specimen and patrolling the location
until the tusk could be excavated by paleontologist Dave Taylor of
the Northwest Natural History Association.
According to Taylor, the tusk is a greatly enlarged incisor tooth
that most likely belonged to the columbian mammoth, or Mammuthus
columbi. The columbian mammoth was large, even for an elephant,
allaining a height of up to 13 ft at the shoulders. It was common
during late Pleistocene time and ranged throughout North and Central
America.
BLM archaeologist Suzanne Crowley Thomas stated that the tusk,
which was found in stream gravels with its tip lodged against a large
boulder, was all that was left of a carcass that had probably washed
downstream long ago.
The tusk was found on land in Wheeler County that was recently
acquired by BLM in the Sutton Mountain land exchange. The area
is known to be rich in paleontological resources dated 34 10 54 million
years old. This find is unique, however, because it is so recent.
Before the tusk could be excavated, 6 ft of earth had to be removed
from above the fossil, and space to work had to be cut into the
steep hillside. Taylor, who led the excavation one hot weekend in
August 1988, was assisted in the process by archaeologist Thomas
and volunteers Bob Tavemia, Scott Thomas, and Merle and Sandra
Simmons.
The tusk was exposed, and plaster-soaked burlap strips were applied
to form a protective jacket. Boards were added to stabilize the tusk,
and finally the whole package was lifted onto a stretcher and carried
downhill. The tusk then spent the next few months in a laboratory
at Portland State University, while Taylor cut and peeled away the
plaster jacket, applied more glues. and filled in some of the missing
surface with plaster.
After its return to central Oregon, the tusk was placed in a specially
designed case in the lobby of the Prineville BLM District Office
along with photographs and descriptions of the excavation. The Bridge
Creek mammoth tusk exhibit is proving to be a popular attraction
Sandra Simmons helping in excavating the mammoth lusk she and
her family found near Mitchell in 1988.
and has been viewed by several hundred visitors since its unveiling
on April 19, 1989.
This tusk is a classic example of the way in which private citizens
who make an important scientific discovery on public lands can report
the find to the appropriate land managing agency or to a member
of the professional community, thereby assuring that the discovery
will be properly treated and preserved for all to study and enjoy.
The casual use and collection of fossils have long been recognized
as legitimate activities on public lands. Some restrictions do exist,
however, which provide for the mamagement and protection of fossils
of major scientific value. Generally, common invertebrate and plant
fossils may be collected by private individuals without a permit. Exceptions
can occur when the fossils are of high scientific value. Vertebrate
fossils generally may be collected under permits issued by
BLM or other appropriate authorities, and these permits are issued
only to bona-fide scientific researchers and institutions.
Opportunities are available, however, for private individuals to
participate in scientific field studies through volunteer work with active
research organizations such as colleges, universities, conservation organizations,
and museums. For those who want 10 participate, there
is ample opportunity to dig and learn through these organized research
programs.
BUvf Ne .... s. Oregon and Washington
(Col1linued from previous page)
tending through '1984 (Neuendorf and Yost,
1987). The Department has a noncirculating
library of current and out-of-print periodicals,
theses and dissertations, and published and unpublished
repons, including reports written for
the War Officc during World War II. The Department
also maintains files of unpUblished
information on most of the commodities lisled
in Table I. Summaries of these commodities
were published in the Dt;partment's Bulletin
64, Mineral and Waler Resources of Oregon
(Weissenborn, 1969). Comprehensive Department
studies on talc and bentonite have been
published recently; a limestone survey is in
press; a silica summary is in progress; and similar
studies of other commodities are planned
for future work.
RE FE RENCES CITED
Bates. R.L.. 1969 (1St ed. 1960). Geology of the
industrial rocks and minerals, New York, Dover
P ubli~ations. 459 p.
Ferns. ML and Ramp, L.. 1988, Investigations of
talc in Oregon: Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries Special Paper 18.52 p ..
4 pis.
Gray. JJ .. Geitgey. R. P .. and Baxter. G.L.. 1989.
Bentonite in Oregon: Oc~urrellCes, analyses, and
economic poIential: Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Indusuies Special Paper 20,
28 p .• 3 pis.
Harben. P.W., and Bates. R. L., 1984. Geology of
the nonmetallics: New York. Metal Bulletin. Inc.,
392 p.
Industrial Minerals. 1967- : Worcester Park. U.K.,
Metal Bulletin Journals Ltd.
Lefond. SJ .. and othen. eels .. 1983. industrial minerals
and rocks (nonmetallics other than fuel s),
5th ed.: New York. Society of Mining Engineers
of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical.
and Petroleum Engineen. Inc., 2 v .. 1446 p.
Leppert, D.E., 1988, An Oregon cure for Bikini island?
First results from the Zeolite Immobiliution
Experiment: Oregon Geology. v. 50. no_
11/12. p. 140-141.
Neuendorf. K.K.E., and Yost, K., eelS., 1987, Bibliography
of the geology and mineral resources
of Oregon, 8th supplement, January I. 1980. to
December 31. 1984: Oregon Department ofGeology
and Mineral Industries Bulletin 103, 176 p.
U.S. Bureau of Mines. 1985. Mineral facts and problems.
1985 edition: U.S. BureauofMines Bulletin
675, 956 p.
---1989. Minerals yearbook, 1987: U.S. Bureau
of Mines , 3 v. (Latest year covered; for subsequent
year, single chapters usually are published as preprints.)
Weissenborn, A.E., ed., 1969, Mineral and water resources
of Oregon: Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries Bulletin 64, 462
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O REGON GEOLOGY, VOLUME 51, NUMBE R 6, NO VEMBER 1989
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