What a Find!

What a Find!. . , Your fossil discovery begins a scientific process. Every detail is important, even the area around the find. A fossil and its surroundings reveal what types of plants and animals existed and how they lived, died, and changed. , The layer of rock containing a fossil can provide clues about things like climate change. Badlands fossils are often exposed after rainstorms because the land erodes easily. If you find a fossil, please do not disturb it. Note the location and report it to a park ranger. , Visitor site Report , Please take a Visitor Site Report with you as you hike. You can get a form at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center or at the park entrance stations. If you find a fossil fill out the form and give it to a ranger. , Discover and Document , If you see a fossil, please do not disturb it. Its location provides important information. You can help with the scientific discovery process by taking a photograph, noting the location and filling out a Visitor Site Report. You can pick up a report at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center or a park entrance statin. , Tell a Park Ranger , Give your Visitor Site Report to a park ranger. The ranger will give them to the park's paleontologists for further investigation. Please provide contact information so we can request copies of photographs you may have taken. , Paleontologists Investigate , One of the park's paleontologists will use your Visitor Site Report to investigate the new fossil and its surroundings. These discovers made by visitors like you increase our knowledge and paint a vivid picture of life in the Badlands millions of years ago.