WACO, TEXAS – On Monday, October 5, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will attend a celebration in Waco, Texas to commemorate the recent designation of Waco Mammoth National Monument. Secretary Jewell and others will tour the site before the dedication ceremony.
In July, President Obama designated Waco Mammoth as one of three new national monuments , including Berryessa Snow Mountain in California and Basin and Range in Nevada. Waco Mammoth permanently protects the site where the extremely well-preserved fossils of a herd of Columbian Mammoths and remains of other Ice Age animals have been found. The National Park Service works in partnership with the City of Waco, Baylor University, and the Waco Mammoth Foundation to manage the Waco Mammoth National Monument.
The site provides a rare chance to understand and interpret the behavior and ecology of the extinct Columbian Mammoth. The oldest fossils identified at the site are thought to be more than 65,000 years old. In addition, both the excavation area and the land around it offer an excellent opportunity for further exploration and paleontological and geological research.
Secretary Jewell and Director Jarvis will also meet with local fourth grade students in support of President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park initiative to distribute free passes to America’s federal lands and waters. The Every Kid in a Park program seeks to connect young people with the great outdoors. As of Sept. 1, the program allows fourth graders nationwide to go to www.everykidinapark.gov and obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters nationwide for an entire year.
Bone Site Tour
Who:
Ceremony participants and confirmed members of the media
What:
Waco Mammoth National Monument bone site tour and opportunity for b-roll
When:
Monday, October 5, 2015
8:20 a.m. CDT – Media check-in
8:30 a.m. CDT – Bone site tour begins
9:20 a.m. CDT – Bone site tour ends
Where:
Waco Mammoth National Monument
6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive
Waco, TX 76708
Media:
Credentialed members of the media MUST RSVP here by 6 PM EDT today, Oct. 2, 2015.
Dedication Ceremony:
Who:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
Russ Whitlock, Superintendent, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
Larry Groth, Former Waco City Manager, City of Waco
Gloria Young, Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, Waco Mammoth Foundation, Inc.
Malcolm Duncan, Mayor, City of Waco
Ken Starr, President and Chancellor, Baylor University
What:
Waco Mammoth National Monument celebration
When:
Monday, October 5, 2015
9:45 a.m. CDT – Media check-in
10:00 a.m. CDT – Dedication ceremony
10:45 a.m. CDT – Media availability
11:00 a.m. CDT – Distribution of Every Kid in a Park passes
Where:
Waco Mammoth National Monument
6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive
Waco, TX 76708
Media:
Credentialed members of the media MUST RSVP here by 6 PM EDT today, Oct. 2, 2015.
Source: Department of Interior
