The Bureau of Land Management Moab Field Office invites the public to the grand opening celebration of the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite Trail. This short interpretive trail features over 200 tracks, representing eight different types of tracks and six different dinosaurs.
Imagine an ancient lakebed where these animals trudged through a thick gooey mud over 112 million years ago.
An opening ceremony is planned for 1:30 p.m. on Friday April 1, 2016, in the parking lot at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite Trailhead. This will be a kid-friendly event with tours. Paleontologists will be on hand to answer questions about the dinosaurs and other fossils in the area, including the best ways to view and enjoy them, how scientists study them, and how to protect these amazing resources.
To get to the trailhead, drive 15 miles north of Moab on Hwy 191. Turn left on the dirt road marked “Mill Canyon.” Follow signs for the next 0.8 miles to the parking lot for the trail, located to the right in the rock lined parking area.
The site was discovered in 2009. Since 2013, a professional team of paleontologists have uncovered, recorded, and studied the tracks. They discovered both meat-eating and plant-eating dinosaurs, as well as a bird
and crocodile. Some of the most unique tracks belong to a relative of the famous Utahraptor. These new tracks were previously unknown in North America.
In geologic time, constructing the trail was quick, taking just over a year of partners and volunteers pitching in to help BLM build the trail. BLM
thanks the Utah Friends of Paleontology, Southeastern Utah Interagency Fire Crew, Utah Conservation Corps, Grand County Trail Mix, and Southern Utah University Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative for helping to complete the trail this past fall. While the BLM funded much of the project, we are extremely grateful to Canyonlands Natural History Association for their
fundraising campaign, and private donations given to the Utah Friends of Paleontology that were essential to the success of the project.
For more information, please contact ReBecca Hunt-Foster, BLM Canyon
Country District Paleontologist at 435-259-2100. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
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