Agate Fossil Beds Administrative History

Ronald Reagan's Mandate and Core Mission, 1981

With the election of former California Governor Ronald Reagan to the Presidency, the nation began a new era in January 1981. For the National Park Service, an uncertain future loomed. The change in political party in the Executive Branch ushered in a new conservative Republican philosophy that was anti-spending as well as anti-Big Government. The austerity measures of the Reagan platform were seen as a mandate in the wake of the political repudiation of Jimmy Carter. This was certainly true in the case of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Hopes for funding the long-awaited permanent visitor facilities, already delayed by the Carter Administration until Fiscal Year 1985, were even dimmer under Ronald Reagan's mandate.

James Gaius Watt's appointment as Secretary of the Interior inspired the Cook heirs to re-ignite their adversarial position. On February 15, 1981, Mrs. Grayson (Dorothy Cook) Meade, wrote to President Reagan:

You are right! Federal agencies have been greedy in seizing property beyond reasonable need; they have built their own little empires, they have disregarded the public good, and they have been bad neighbors, as James Watt recently stated.

Thank you both for that understanding! It is like a fresh breeze to the public. Your suggestion that federal agencies should sell excess property makes complete sense. Such sales, besides producing income, would reduce the resentment with which agencies are viewed, by returning land to productivity and to tax rolls.

The agencies can be expected to defend every scrap of property, and declare that nothing is excess. Perhaps local observers should be asked to suggest specific excess-property situations which the government could then investigate. [1]

Mrs. Meade cited the case of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument where the National Park Service had acquired "by threat of condemnation" 3,000 acres to encompass the five-acre quarry. Stating a generous 320 acres were sufficient, she contended that the remainder was excess and did not merit two full-time or four seasonal personnel. Mrs. Meade asked that former owners be given first option to repurchase the land. Copies of the letter were sent to Secretary Watt, Senators J. J. Exon and Edward Zorinsky, and Congresswoman Virginia Smith. [2]

Senator Zorinsky forwarded his copy of the letter to the Department, [3] whereupon it was channeled to the Midwest Regional Office for reply. The National Park Service spelled out its case in a letter signed by Assistant Secretary Stanley W. Hulett on April 17, 1981. The last paragraph indicated a new Department directive to the Service: "...the Secretary has asked the National Park Service to carefully review their holdings at Agate to determine whether there may be lands in excess of their needs." [4] Backed by a decade of careful planning for land acquisition, however, any review board could cite the historical record to justify the Service's position.

The Reagan philosophy soon translated itself into Executive policy by the Office of Management and Budget which called on all agencies to formulate budgets designed to operate each unit at a "minimum acceptable level" of performance. Secretary James Watt and Director Russell Dickenson concurred with the back to basics approach and encouraged fiscal restraint. By December 1981, a Core Mission Declaration was composed for Agate Fossil Beds with the following objectives:

To preserve and protect the flora, fauna, geological and paleontological resources and scenic values of the Monument and thus allow nature to take its course.

To preserve and protect the Bone Cabin, archeological sites and the Cook Collection from deterioration, destruction or theft.

To maintain the Monument's facilities in good working order.

To provide for display, research, study and interpretation of the natural and cultural resources of the Monument through appropriate facilities and services.

To provide for visitor use of the Monument and for the protection and safety of park visitors, residents and employees. [5]

At Agate Fossil Beds, the call for fiscal restraint was nothing new. Budgets had always been frugal and Core Mission (also called Basic Operations) did not halt National Park Service progress in western Nebraska. In fact, the future brightened with a change in superintendents. After more than thirty-six years in Federal service, Robert L. Burns retired on March 31. Alford J. ("Jerry") Banta, former Superintendent of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, Ohio, entered on duty June 14, 1981, determined to set goals and strive for real progress in both parks under his charge.

In the remainder of 1981, stabilization of the historic Harold J. Cook Homestead Cabin (Bone Cabin) was performed. Dr. Robert Hunt's excavations at "Bear Dog" hill, adjacent to the principal quarries, uncovered the skull and other fossil bones of a Temnocyon, or prehistoric dog. It was only the second such specimen of the same genus to be found in the world. (Excavations in 1905 by Carnegie Museum Paleontologist A. O. Peterson in the same area revealed the complete remains of a female adult and a male juvenile Daphoenodon [bear-dog] in one den system). Planning of wayside exhibits in coordination with Harpers Ferry Center began in October by updating the existing plan. [6] Proposed exhibits included three near Highway 29 and five along the Fossil Hills Trail:

Nearly ten years in the making, the U.S. Government Printing Office published the Agate Fossil Beds handbook, a 97-page document which elaborates the history and significance of the monument, in May 1981. The principal component is written by paleontologists James and Laurie Macdonald and is well-illustrated. Because of the lack of permanent visitor facilities, the handbook represents a substantial contribution to the park's interpretation. [8]

Since 1965, the Oregon Trail Museum Association (OTMA), the cooperative association at Scotts Bluff, has served Agate Fossil Beds. Two similar organizations founded by Mrs. Margaret C. Cook became dormant after her death in 1968. The OTMA formulated its most substantial assistance during the annual board of director's meeting on December 3, 1981. In light of the exciting discoveries by Dr. Hunt, Superintendent Jerry Banta proposed that one long-term OTMA objective should be to fund research into the history of paleontological excavations at Agate to determine the extent, findings, and locations of previous scientific discoveries. The OTMA concurred, establishing an account with a goal of $5,000 to add to any Service funds. [9]*

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*The National Park Service subsequently funded the entire project. OTMA funds went to other resource needs.

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Divestiture of the Cook II Collection, 1981-1984

With the eager assistance of John Rapier, one of Jerry Banta's principal goals was to divest the park of curatorial items not related to mandated themes. The groundwork for this began during Bob Burns' tenure. In its entirety, the Cook Collection was an unwieldy 40,000 objects. The first accession of Sioux artifacts, loaned by cooperative agreement and later acquired by bill of sale in April 1968, had become labeled "Cook I." The second accession, bequeathed to the Service by Margaret O. Cook, was called "Cook II." Cook I included around 500 priceless items and was not a problem. Cook II, about 39,500 items, comprised the contents of Agate Springs Ranch buildings, included paleontological artifacts, books, furniture, and even boxes of rags. The combined collection, stored in two places at Scotts Bluff and one at Agate Fossil Beds, represented a monumental management headache. To dispose of nonessential items would substantially reduce the size of the collection and bring it under more realistic control.

Jerry Banta took the first step on August 19, 1981. In a memorandum to Midwest Regional Director J. L. Dunning, Banta requested an opinion from the Solicitor on three points: could the Service 1) lend or transfer parts of the Cook Collection to other agencies or institutions outside the Federal Government; 2) return Cook I or Cook II items to the Cook heirs; and 3) declare items excess property? [10] Regional Director Dunning's subsequent request for an opinion included additional questions from Regional Curator John Hunter. [11]

In a September 30, 1981 reply, Solicitor Albert V. Witham determined Cook I was inviolate, "to be used for exhibition and reference purposes at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument with temporary removal for repair or preservation permitted." Cook II assets could be disposed of under authority of the Museum Services Act of July 1, 1955 (69 Stat. 242) giving the Secretary authority to expend, exchange, or loan property no longer needed "to increase the public benefits" or "interest." [12]

The Solicitor's liberal definition of "expend," however, evoked terror throughout the Service's curatorial community. Arthur C. Allen, Chief of the Division of Museum Services, Harpers Ferry Center, was particularly alarmed. In an appeal to Chief Curator Ann Hitchcock, Allen wrote:

In my opinion this is a potentially destructive interpretation of the Museum Services Act and is not consistent with the intent of the legislation. The Act was promulgated to allow the NPS to exercise policies similar to those used by private sector museums. The law was not enacted to make it easy to dispose of museum resources entrusted to the care of the National Park Service. Under Mr. Witham's interpretation the National Park Service could give away museum objects to anyone or any institution, just as long as the action "increases the benefits derived from National Park Museums." To indicate how loosely "benefits" can be interpreted the memo goes on to suggest that the making of additional space is good enough reason to dispose of federally owned museum objects.

No matter the merits of the case in point, the solicitor's opinion may have a far-reaching deleterious effect on a Servicewide basis. Can you imagine the possibility of park collections being given away on the basis that the public benefits from the additional space gained by the collection's disposal? As proposed earlier, we do need the ability, under certain circumstances, to donate unneeded museum objects to bona fide public museums, but we certainly do not need to open this particular Pandora's Box. [13]

Ann Hitchcock immediately appealed Witham's opinion to Barbara Levin in the Assistant Solicitor's Office, inquiring if it conflicted with previous opinions. Hitchcock believed that the intent of "expend" referred to monetary gifts and gifts of property other than museum objects. [14] Hitchcock's assessment was correct as viewed by an April 5, 1982, Assistant Solicitor's opinion. Regional Solicitor Albert Witham responded the following day:

The April 5, 1982, opinion agrees that personal property donated by Mrs. Cook after July 1, 1955, [sic/1965?] may be disposed of to increase the public benefits or to loan them in accordance with the limitations of our September 30, 1981, opinion. Please note that with respect to returning donated personal property to the Cook heirs, while the Assistant Solicitor agrees that this may be done if it advances the public interest, caution should be exercised to make sure that the public interest is advanced. Hence, you should assure yourself that any objects in Cook II which are returned to the Cooks are not of museum quality and, if returned, will enhance the display and provide room for the quality objects. [15]

Thus, the potential threat to the integrity of Service museum collections dissipated with the distinction made between museum quality objects and mundane personal property.

The next step was to draft a Scope of Collection Statement clearly defining the mission of Agate Fossil Beds and how the collections told the monument's story. The Statement, approved by Acting Regional Director Randall Pope on July 2, 1982, outlined the scope of the three collections: museum, library, and archives. It was against these precise definitions that Cook II could be evaluated and deaccessioning decisions justified. Guidelines for additional collecting and criteria for acceptance or rejection of donated objects were also adopted. [16]

The Scope of Collection Statement represented a fundamental milestone in the park's quest to divest itself of superfluous Cook II material. Its adoption cleared the path for Jerry Banta to contact the Cook heirs, principally the Meades at the Agate Springs Ranch. The move genuinely impressed the Meades who were surprised the Service would perform such a good-neighborly deed. Cook family relations with the National Park Service, icy since the land acquisition and fencing battles of the 1970s, thawed with the prospect of regaining some of the cherished heirlooms taken from than under the terms of Margaret C. Cook's will.

Under the Solicitor's opinion, Cook II divestiture back to the Cook family could not take place without proof of demonstrated public benefit. Jerry Banta and John Rapier devised a "Draft Barter Agreement" between the Service and Mrs. Dorothy Meade. Under the agreement, the Park Service could relinquish items from Cook II which were deemed unnecessary and not of museum quality in exchange for oral history interviews with Mrs. Meade on the 500 Sioux Indian items in Cook I. [17] Jerry Banta reasoned:

Ms. Dorothy Meade is a daughter of Harold Cook. At one time, she gave guided tours through the family museum which primarily displayed the collection of 500+ American Indian artifacts we now refer to as the Cook I Collection. The display and interpretation of these objects is a primary legislated mission of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Many of the objects were given to James Cook by Red Cloud and other notable Native American leaders. Each has a special story surrounding its history or transfer. This information is essential to the mission of the Park. There is not now, nor will there ever be, a source for the information other than Ms. Meade. The assistance of Ms. Meade will also be required in the identification of hundreds of photographs in the Agate Collection. [18]

Using the Scope of Collection Statement, John Rapier thoroughly inventoried Cook II. On December 30, 1982, a park review board approved Rapier's eighty-three page inventory of 4,425 separate groupings and submitted it to Regional Director Jimmie L. Dunning along with an updated Draft Barter Agreement. While representing only a small portion of Cook II, divestiture of all items on the list would reduce storage space by an amazing sixty percent. [19]

A lengthy in-Service review process resulted in an eighteen-month delay before the Draft Barter Agreement went to the Solicitor for comment. On August 3, 1984, Regional Solicitor Albert V. Witham suggested two clauses: that Mrs. Meade accept the materials in their present condition without warranties and the Government be free from liability for damage or injury during moving the goods. Witham also requested that a moving date be established in the agreement, and added, "We do not think it would be legally proper to deliver all or part of the goods to her until she has performed all or part, respectively, of her side of the bargain." [20]

Mrs. Dorothy Meade did not wait to sign the Barter Agreement before she began fulfilling "her side of the bargain." Beginning in 1983, Mrs. Meade traveled to Scotts Bluff National Monument to identify artifacts in Cook I and to relate personal knowledge in recorded oral history interviews. [21] In 1984, Mrs. Meade completed the oral history sessions [22] and began work on identifying photographs.

Midwest Regional Director Charles H. Odegaard approved the Barter Agreement and signed it on behalf of the Park Service on December 21, 1984. Mrs. Meade signed the document in early 1985. Final completion of the terms of the agreement came on September 30, 1985. [23]

While steady progress was being made on the divestiture of Cook II, other important achievements were made at Agate Fossil Beds from 1982 to 1985.

In 1982, under provisions of the Scope of Collection Statement, the University of South Dakota-Vermillion won a contract bid for $26,000 for archival organization and inventory of the Cook Papers Collection. After fourteen years of Park Service ownership, developing an index for the massive Cook Papers would make this rich historical manuscript collection available to researchers.

Dr. Robert Hunt returned to Agate Fossil Beds in 1982 to continue excavating the Bear Dog Hill site where he uncovered other den systems. Hunt and three assistants from the University of Nebraska Museum (under a grant from the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society) excavated one of the oldest large carnivore dens known to man, dating to the Miocene Epoch of 20 million years ago. Terms of the excavation permit for the five-year project provided for interpretation to visitors throughout the period of the excavations. [24]

Professionals from the Midwest Region and Washington Offices also arrived to identify prairie restoration and fossil hills needs. The park installed a fire weather station near the Maintenance Building and John Rapier received training on how to compute and transmit data from the station.

Maintenance activities in 1982 included the installation of new signs conforming with the National Park Sign System and the Park Sign Plan. The construction of a permanent, three-unit unisex restroom facility prompted Superintendent Jerry Banta to lament, "The facility.., exceeds all other headquarters buildings in appearance." [25] Workers added a concrete wheelchair ramp to the visitor center parking lot. The ramp and the new comfort station made all visitor services facilities accessible to the handicapped. Installation of a fire and intrusion alarm system, designed by Regional Curator John Hunter, began during 1982, and alarm indicators put in Ranger-in-Charge Rapier's and Maintenance Foreman Hanson's residences. Finally the park replaced the bridge over the Niobrara leading to the Rapier residence. [26]

Status of the development ceiling for Agate Fossil Beds was $552,700 appropriated through Fiscal Year 1982. Out of the authorized $2,012,000, the unappropriated remaining funds totalled $1,459,300. [27] For the fiscal budget, the results of a Basic Operations Programs Evaluation early in the year showed a minimum of $7,500 needed for Core Mission. Superintendent Banta disagreed with the projection stating that the park:

is not currently funded to meet its mandated mission.... The survey indicated projected requirements of 7.5 thousand dollars in visitor services to meet the basic mission. Since that submission an accumulation of salary increase absorption, administrative reduction, and personnel ceiling imposition have further reduced the park's capabilities. It is now anticipated that approximately 12 thousand dollars and .3 additional work year would be required for the basic operation. [28]

Nineteen eighty-three was the first year of a two-year grasslands study. The park purchased a slip-on fire-fighting pumper for range fires on monument lands, and replaced plexiglass covers on the fossil display cases at the visitor center and along the Fossil Hills Trail. Boundary fencing in 1983 completely enclosed the principal perimeter of the monument to prevent livestock damage to paleontological and prairie resources. Workers installed a hypoclorinator at headquarters; at the ranger residence, they drilled a new well and installed a new pressure tank and hypoclorinator. [29] An additional $26,000 contract went to Archivist Karen Zimmerman of the University of South Dakota to accomplish the second phase of the Cook Papers Collection inventory by July 1, 1984. [30] (An extension resulted in project completion in December 1984.)

The most significant public relations development in 1983 involved the July 15 publication of an article by Dr. Robert Hunt in Science magazine. The article revealed results of Hunt's Agate excavations to the scientific community that denning behavior by large carnivores dated 20,000,000 years ago, 18,000,000 years more than previously believed. [31] Hunt's work at Agate continued in 1984. Under a National Park Service contract, the Nebraska paleontologist completed a report, The Agate Hills: History of Paleontological Excavations, 1904-1925. First called for by Jerry Banta and the Oregon Trail Museum Association in 1981, Hunt's book traces the excavating history of the area utilizing the archives of participating institutions, but not the Cook Papers Collection which were unavailable to researchers.

In 1984, the Midwest Regional Office approved a single "Resource Management Specialist" position to serve both Scotts Bluff and Agate Fossil Beds National Monuments. Resource Management Specialist George Oviatt immediately began a two-year training program at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana.

A visitor was fined $250 for shooting a deer on Federal land in 1984, the first serious law enforcement infraction in the monument's history. Facilities for the handicapped were improved with the addition of a wheelchair accessible drinking fountain and picnic tables. New routed plastic signs identifying wildflowers were constructed for the Fossil Hills Trail. Boundary fencing at the remote Stenomylus site, designed to prevent livestock damage to paleontological and prairie resources, also began.

The park installed a new propane furnace/air conditioner at the temporary visitor center along with a 1,000-gallon propane tank. A modern house trailer replaced the aging ranger residence house trailer. Maintenance Foreman James Hanson enhanced the Maintenance Shop by constructing cabinets, benches, and tables to accommodate a new radial saw and electric welder. The park also purchased a replacement pickup truck and a new garden tractor for mowing and snowblowing, and arranged for the grading and graveling of the road to the ranger residence. The ranger residence received wood siding and a generator for emergency power outages. [32]

Midwest Regional Director Charles H. Odegaard approved a revised Statement for Management on September 24, 1984. Primary management concerns of "such magnitude or immediacy so as to require special attention in park planning and operational actions" are as follows:

The lack of adequate and appropriate visitor access and interpretive facilities severely hinders the ability of park management to carry out the basic mission of the park.

An extensive ongoing program of curatorial care must be developed to preserve and maintain the Monument's large collection of priceless museum objects.

A management plan for the fossil quarries is necessary to properly evaluate continuing requests for scientific use of the resources.

Insufficient scientific and data base information exists to allow sound management of aquatic and prairie resources. [33]

Updated management objectives of the 1984 Statement for Management follow:

To identify, inventory, and monitor the condition of natural, cultural and scenic values of the Monument, and to provide appropriately for their preservation, protection and use.

To manage the unique paleontological resources of the area so as to provide for their scientific and educational use in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Monument.

To provide appropriately for the protection, preservation, and display of artifacts and relics of the Cook Collection and the archeological sites of the Monument; and to interpret the unique relationship of the Indians and early settlers of the area.

To identify, provide for, and regulate appropriate uses of the Monument in a manner consistent with the protection of its resources and existing private rights, and to provide access and facilities to permit and manage such uses.

To provide means for the safety and protection of the visitors, residents, and employees of the Monument.

To maintain the physical facilities within the park in a cost efficient manner.

To provide for the proper preservation, protection and interpretation of the Harold Cook Homestead. [34]

The revised Statement for Management and establishment of the resource management specialist position highlight the Banta/Rapier initiative to identify and mitigate natural and cultural resources concerns.

Cooperative Agreement with Sioux County, 1984

With visitation gradually increasing, one of the most irksome management problems in the 1970s and early 1980s is the egregious condition of the Sioux County Road through the monument. Beginning in 1977, Sioux County's traditionally sporadic maintenance of the three-mile gravel access road increased to meet the upswing in visitation to Agate Fossil Beds. The expense to maintain this roadway segment and time it takes away from other projects in the huge northwest Nebraska county is a drain on the road department's budget. From the county's perspective, the National Park Service should help fund road maintenance. At the very least, the Service should provide the gravel every five to eight years for the county to regrade the road free-of-charge. The county wanted to use the gravel pit inside the monument which historically was used for this purpose. When the gravel pit became Service property, however, the park denied this gravel source to the county. Compounding the problem further was Grayson Meade's refusal to sell Sioux County any gravel from the Agate Springs Ranch's rock quarry for use on roads inside the national monument. County government expressed its concern about the escalating cost of hauling gravel from distant sources to Agate Fossil Beds.

Complaints from park visitors rise proportionally as the road deteriorates following adverse weather or heavy summertime usage. Although to the layman using an onsite gravel source seems ideal, the Service's resource protection policies prohibit further exploitation of the old gravel pit. Neither can funding be used to improve non-Federal property, i.e. the Sioux County Road right-of-way. Even if it were sanctioned, the fiscal restraint environment made such an expenditure dubious.

Undaunted, Superintendent Jerry Banta and Management Assistant John Rapier met with the Sioux County Board of Commissioners in Harrison on November 1, 1982. Both sides aired their positions on the problem. Also present was County Attorney John Skavdahl who stated the county would continue to maintain the road, but could not afford to make any major improvements. Banta restated the Service's long-standing offer to enter into a cooperative agreement with Sioux County to provide minor maintenance on the three-mile segment of road.

The two sides discussed possible steps leading to an agreement and the necessity of concurrent jurisdiction permitting the Federal Government to improve the road. After much discussion, it was agreed to meet again to discuss the issue further. Banta noted, "The meeting was cordial at all times and generally directed toward problem solving. However, it appears we are some distance yet from reaching a satisfactory agreement for the Park." [35]

Subsequent meetings were held to resolve the problem. A June 9, 1982, Solicitor's opinion held that no more than $1,000 each year should be expended to assist in minor road maintenance. In a bewildering twist, Sioux County Commissioners did an about-face and dropped their request for funding and pushed for a gravel source within the monument. [36]

In 1983, the two sides finally negotiated a tentative agreement. The Service followed the Solicitor's opinion and agreed to allocate funds up to $1,000 to Sioux County each year to assist with minor road maintenance to mitigate the impact of park visitor usage. Sioux County officials pledged to seek legislation in Lincoln to secure concurrent jurisdiction for the National Park Service. [37] The official agreement was signed September 4, 1984. The cooperative agreement (CA-6710-4-8014) includes a five-year renewal clause. [38]

A bill, drafted and introduced in the Nebraska Legislature in 1984, [39] passed in early 1985, extending concurrent jurisdiction to all National Park Service units in the State: Agate Fossil Beds and Scotts Bluff National Monuments, and Homestead National Monument of America. A Solicitor's opinion subsequently declared the measure flawed, and until amended by the unicameral, the National Park Service will not accept concurrent jurisdiction from the State. [40]

A Look to the Past and to the Future, 1985

A review of events in the two decades since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed P. L. 89-33 reveals moderate progress has been achieved at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Changes have taken place because of the dogged persistence of dedicated Park Service personnel who believe in the significance and importance of the fossil beds and its related resources to the heritage of the United States and the world. While Agate Fossil Beds National Monument may have enjoyed number-one priority in 1965, with the escalation of the Vietnam conflict and subsequent events, this distinction was quickly lost and has never been regained. It has caused disappointment for Service personnel as well as communities in northwest Nebraska who remember the plans and promises of the 1960s. Few have given up. Admittedly, progress at Agate Fossil Beds has been painfully slow, but it moves relentlessly forward "one step at a time." The park remains in its infancy, being nurtured by talented men and women with vision who recognize the site's significance.

Lack of permanent visitor services facilities is the biggest stumbling block. Projections in 1980 wistfully called for construction to begin in 1985. That did not happen nor, according to all National Park Service personnel consulted, is it likely within the next several years. Construction of an interpretive center and administration building continues to be a number-one park priority. Presently, there are no powerful Nebraska politicians in the United States Congress like Roman Hruska who will force the issue. Agate Fossil Bed's "Catch 22" remains in effect, according to John Rapier:

With limited funds, we are always low on the totem pole. It's like the egg and the chicken. Which comes first? They would say your visitation doesn't justify a visitor center; but without the visitor center, you don't get the potential you would probably get if it became well-known that you had a visitor center.... People who would come here and come out of their way... don't because the area isn't developed that much so it doesn't attract the number of visitors that it potentially would with more developed facilities. [41]

On the same topic, Howard W. Baker later recalled:

I think it's a shame that we have not been able to do anything, but when you have a situation where most of the values are covered up, you don't feel an urgency of getting in there and doing something. I know how people think when they have pressures to put the dollar here or put the dollar there. The dollar's going to go where it will make the best showing and to put Agate Fossil Beds high on that list is something most people wouldn't do. I think we have it preserved, that's the main thing. Some day when we... can spend that kind of money and do the job of interpreting the area and displaying the area, then I think we have what we need. It's a matter of showing it. I can't fault the Park Service for not moving ahead. [42]

In late 1984, a Development/Study Package Proposal (Form 10-238) was approved to make additional minor changes to preliminary designs, and to prepare construction documents for an "initial visitor use building to include exhibit areas, restroom facilities, multipurpose (AV) room, curatorial storage, library, museum lab, and office space for park staff; construct associated sidewalks and parking areas." [43] Justification for the move follows:

Agate Fossil Beds was established [sic] in 1965 and initial visitor use facilities have not yet been provided. Legislation establishing [sic] the Monument specifically provided for the exhibition of one of the Nation's major Sioux Indian collections. For lack of exhibit area, that collection remains in storage and the Park is unable to fulfill its primary mission.... If the facilities are not provided, interest groups will continue to publically question Federal acquisition of the area for which initial facilities have not been provided in 20 years.

There is renewed public interest in the project. The Western United Chambers of Commerce have recently identified the completion of development as a major goal and has enlisted the aid of most members of the Nebraska Congressional Delegation and other public officials. The National Park Service has been the subject of severe local criticism for the 20-year delay in providing initial development in the Park. [44]

Park personnel are evaluating what the next generation of temporary facilities should be. The office and visitor center trailers both are beyond their life expectancy and should be replaced. One option is simply to replace them in kind. A more attractive proposal is to acquire a modular home unit thereby combining administration, exhibits, A/V, and storage rooms in one structure. The more modern facility would not only be pleasing to the eye, but more spacious as well, thereby better serving the visitor. [45]

While permanent visitor center construction did not begin in 1985 as forecast, improvement of other visitor services areas did. For example, the park hard-surfaced the Fossil Hills Trail and awaited delivery of new wayside exhibits. A mowed one-mile strip connecting the headquarters area with the fossil beds, the Fossil Hills Trail was uneven and unsafe. In the mid-1970s, park personnel relocated the footpath several yards away as the result of overuse, causing a double visual blight on the Niobrara valley floor. Blacktopping the trail corrected a troublesome human erosion and maintenance problem as well as eliminated the threat of rattlesnakes concealed in the prairie vegetation harming visitors. The newly paved Fossil Hills Trail is three-and-a-half feet wide, and a 460-foot boardwalk spans the marshy area near the Niobrara. [46]

Another summer 1985 improvement came in the museum storage area of the Maintenance Building. At a cost of $2,500 for materials, park employees insulated the curatorial room under the direction of James Hanson. The area is now secure against rodent entry. It is further augmented by the installation of heating and humidification equipment from Scotts Bluff. [47] The environmental controls now permits most of the Cook II Collection—after divestiture of the non-museum quality objects under the Barter Agreement with Mrs. Dorothy Meade—to be stored at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. This in itself is a historic event for the National Monument.

Part of Cook II which will not be stored at Agate Fossil Beds is the Cook Papers Collection. In late 1984, Karen Zimmerman of the University of South Dakota completed the computerized inventory/index of the collection. The papers collection contains correspondence from 3,805 individuals, among whom are "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Helen Keller, William Howard Taft, Thomas Dewey, Herbert Hoover, and Chief Red Cloud. Alongside the letters are financial records, legal documents, notebooks, manuscripts photographs, and scientific publications, all contained within 100 archival boxes. [48] The Cook Papers have already proven to be a valuable historical resource. The author was the first historian to use the manuscript collection in April 1985, followed by Midwest Region Seasonal Historian Charles Trupia, researching the History and Significance section of the Harold J. Cook Homestead Historic Structures Report (and potential National Historic Landmark nomination). The permanent loan archival depository will be determined after the transfer of the collection from Vermillion to Scotts Bluff National Monument in the fall of 1985. Park and Regional officials will determine the best candidate. Potential repositories include the University of Nebraska, University of Wyoming-Laramie, and Nebraska State Historical Society.

A June 1985 operations evaluation report pinpointed no principal administrative deficiencies, but suggested ways to boost visitation.

One serious regional problem in 1985 involved grasshopper infestation and damage to range and cropland. Damage to vegetation within the monument also occurred and neighbors voiced concern the Park Service did not take part in the area spraying programs.

Career Seasonal Ranger William W. Taylor, employed at Agate Fossil Beds since 1966, retired in November 1985. Taylor's twenty-year tenure marked the longest in the monument's history. [49]

Under review in 1985, the park's Land Protection Plan recommends a cooperative agreement be made between the Park Service and owners of the Agate Springs Ranch. The agreement would ensure the continued management of the ranch headquarters which falls within the recognized boundary. The Cook heirs would be required to maintain the historic scene (in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation) until a change in ownership, whereby the Service would possess a right of first refusal upon sale of the property. If current use changes or a cooperative agreement is not obtainable, the plan recommends a scenic easement to insure preservation of the historic scene. Additionally, two outstanding mineral rights (the service owns a half-interest) on the former Hoffman property (Tract 01-118 and 01-119) should be acquired in fee to protect the monument from mineral development. Finally, a no action alternative on the county road right-of-way will maintain the current cooperative agreement. Construction of permanent visitor facilities and/or increased visitation may require acquisition of the right-of-way to permit significant Federal improvements on the road. [50] [NOTE: The plan was approved in May 1986.]

Superintendent Jerry Banta's motive in preparing the Land Protection Plan is to halt the twenty-year controversy over the Agate Springs Ranch headquarters' status, and perhaps soon the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument can officially be established. Jerry Banta commented:

I think that the boundaries that we have now are perfectly satisfactory for managing and protecting the resource. I think that the private property that is still within the boundaries that we haven't acquired could very well be handled on less-than-fee operation, but I think it's necessary to keep it in the boundary so that we can protect it.

I don't think it [Agate Springs Ranch headquarters] will ever be acquired as long as it's under its present ownership. There isn't any need to. What we're looking at now, the land acquisition plan calls for cooperative agreement. Then that would be backed up if that wasn't negotiable by a possibility of acquiring it. But if you look at the Agate Springs Ranch, our needs in terms of that ranch are interpretive. It is a historic site within the park boundaries. The best thing that can happen to that ranch would be for it to continue to be a working ranch headquarters—even better—in the Cook family which is exactly what it is, and exactly what the present owners would like to see it continue as. So I don't see us acquiring it in the near future. Probably not at all unless the ownership or use changes. [51]

This attitude is characteristic of the Banta/Rapier management team, and yet another goal in their step-by-step, progressive approach. Relations with neighboring ranchers are good. A key component is integrating with the community, becoming a member and asset to it. This has never been a job requirement, but is something that Park Service employees have willingly done. In the heartfelt words of former management Assistant Roy Weaver:

We loved Sioux County and especially the upper Niobrara. Agate Fossil Beds was not a job but a wonderful experience. Hanging above the fireplace we have an original oil painting we commissioned of the Fossil Hills as seen from our old trailer house. It's a winter scene. The snow-clad fossil hills appear beyond the flooded frozen snow-covered Niobrara. A ghost of last year's cattails adds emphasis while an ancient remnant of George Hoffman's old fence line completes the scene.

That country and its people have a way of becoming part of you. And, if you're lucky, you become part of it. My wife and I developed a special partnership, at home on that grassy terrace above the Niobrara River. Our life was one of rich solitude interspersed with excitement and wonderful activities with our neighbors; activities made special by the solitude that draws neighbors together. As one drives east, after dark, along the Niobrara River or cuts south from the Pink School house up Whistle Creek one gets a special feeling of warmth seeing the ranch yard lights piercing the darkness at intervals and knowing that at each yard light is a family of special people who can be counted upon when needed. [52]

In late 1985 and early 1986, another ray of hope for permanent visitor facilities shines for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Midwest Regional Director Charles H. Odegaard, stating "Agate Fossil Beds is an unusual attraction, and we should be doing a better job of telling its story," [53] placed the construction of a visitor center and museum complex high on his priority action list. The permanent development, estimated at $2.2 million, will become a reality by 1990 if $1 million in private funds can be raised. Under Odegaard's direction, a fund-raising drive is being organized. The old "Catch 22" will yet be defeated.

And the history of the National Park Service's administration of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, continues.

Endnotes

1. Mrs. Grayson E. Meade to Ronald Reagan President of the United States of America, letter, 15 February 1981, A3615.

2. Ibid.

3. Senator Edward Zorinsky to Department of the Interior, 24 February 1981, A3615.

4. Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Congressional and Legislative Affairs Stanley W. Hulett to Senator Edward Zorinsky, 17 April 1981, A3615.

5. Superintendent Alford J. Banta to Regional Director J. L. Dunning, 2 December 1981, and "Draft Core Mission Declaration, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument," review comments incorporated, A5639.

6. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, 11 March 1982, A2621.

7. Wayside Exhibits Proposals, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, submitted to Harpers Ferry Center October 1981, D6215.

8. Press Release, "New Park Handbook Explores Discoveries at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument," 7 May 1981, K3415.

9. Annual Meeting Minutes, Oregon Trail Museum Association, Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center, 3 December 1981, A42, SCBL.

10. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, 19 August 1981, D6215; and Alford J. ("Jerry") Banta, Superintendent, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, 6 March 1985, transcript.

11. Regional Director Dunning to Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region, Office of the Solicitor, 16 September 1981, D6215.

12. Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region, Office of the Solicitor, to Regional Director Dunning, Midwest Region, 30 September 1981, D6215.

13. Arthur C. Allen, Chief, Division of Museum Services, Harpers Ferry Center, to Ann Hitchcock, Chief Curator, Washington Office, 16 November 1981, D6215.

14. Ann Hitchcock to Arthur C. Allen, November [?], 1981, D6215.

15. Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region, Office of the Solicitor, to Regional Director Dunning, Midwest Region, 6 April 1982, D6215.

16. "Scope of Collections Statement for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument," approved 2 July 1982, Randall R. Pope, Acting Regional Director, D6215.

17. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1982 [undated], A2621. Annual Reports from 1982 to 1984 were supplied to the author by the park without transmittal memoranda and, therefore, there are no dates.

18. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, 30 December 1983, D6215.

19. Ibid.

20. Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region, Office of the Solicitor, to Regional Director Dunning, Midwest Region, 3 August 1984, D6215.

21. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1983 [undated], A2621.

22. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Charles H. Odegaard, Annual Report 1984 [undated], A2621.

23. Regional Director Odegaard to Superintendent Banta, 2 January 1985, and "An Agreement For The Exchange of Items Between The National Park Service and Ms. Dorothy Meade, Agate, Nebraska," A2621.

24. Press Release, "Carnivore Den Systems Discovered at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument," 23 July 1982, K3415.

25. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1982 [undated], A2621.

26. Ibid.

27. Acting Regional Director Randall R. Pope to Superintendent Banta, 9 February 1982, D22.

28. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, 5 March 1982, A5639.

29. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1983 [undated], A2621.

30. Contracting Office, Midwest Regional Office, to Ms. Karen Zimmerman, American Indian Research Project and Archeology Laboratory, Department of Social Behavior, University of South Dakota-Vermillion, letter, 14 September 1983, D6215.

31. "Nebraska Dens Oldest Known: 20-Million-Year-Old Fossils Found," Omaha World-Herald (15 July 1983), p. 24, K3415.

32. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Odegaard, Annual Report 1984 [undated], A2621.

33. Statement for Management, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, approved by Midwest Regional Director Charles H. Odegaard on 24 September 1984, D18.

34. Ibid.

35. Superintendent Banta to the Files, 3 November 1982, D30.

36. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1982 [undated], A2621.

37. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Dunning, Annual Report 1983 [undated], A2621; and Alford J. ("Jerry") Banta, Superintendent, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, 6 March 1985, transcript.

38. Cooperative Agreement Between the National Park Service and Sioux County, Nebraska, CA-6710-4-8014, 4 September 1984, D30.

39. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Odegaard, Annual Report 1984 [undated], A2621.

40. Superintendent Banta to Regional Director Odegaard, 13 August 1985, H1415, Midwest Regional Office Files.

41. John B. Rapier, III, Management Assistant/Ranger-in-Charge, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author, 7 March 1985, transcript.

42. Howard W. Baker, interview with author, Omaha, Nebraska, 13 May 1986. transcript, p. 9.

43. Acting Regional Director Randall R. Pope to Superintendent Banta, 1 October 1984; approved Developmental/Study Package Proposal/Form 10-238, Package 115, D2215.

44. Ibid.

45. John B. Rapier, III, Management Assistant/Ranger-in-Charge, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author, 7 March 1985, and Alford J. ("Jerry") Banta, Superintendent, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, 6 March 1985, transcripts.

46. Fiscal Year 1984 Lump Sum Construction Program, Development/Study Package Proposal/Form 10-238, Agate Fossil Beds, Correct Human Erosion of Foot Trail With Surfacing, 25 August 1983, D2219.

47. Acting Superintendent to Regional Director Odegaard, 8 November 1984; and Regional Director Odegaard to Superintendent Banta, 18 January 1985, D6215.

48. Karen Zimmerman, The Cook Papers: An Archival Collection from Agate Fossil Beds National Monument," prepared under contract to the National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office (Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 1984).

49. Draft Land Protection Plan, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 1984.

50. Alford J. ("Jerry") Banta, Superintendent, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, interview with author at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, 6 March 1985, transcript.

51. John B. Rapier, III, Management Assistant/Ranger-in-Charge, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 7 March 1985, transcript.

52. Roy W. Weaver, Superintendent, Edison NHS, New Jersey (former Agate Fossil Beds Management Assistant), to Ron Cockrell, letter, 14 April 1986, H1417, Cultural Resources Management, Midwest Regional Office Files.

53. James Denney, "Anniversary Passes Quietly At Nebraska's Agate Fossil Bed," Magazine of the Midlands, Omaha-World Herald (24 November 1985), 16.