HAGERMAN, Idaho — Visitors to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument have a rare opportunity to see some of Idaho's oldest dinosaur fossils this summer through a special partnership with the Idaho State Museum of Natural History.
The Hagerman Valley, home to fossil beds millions of years old, preserves remnants of ancient megafauna including mastodons, saber-tooth tigers, giant sloths, and the infamous Hagerman Horse.
The steep, stony bluffs west of Hagerman contain a trove of fossils preserved through time. The Hagerman site is particularly valuable because it contains evidence of a mass die-off event.
Take a look at the rare dinosaur bones making occasional appearances at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument:
While the vast majority of the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument remains closed to preserve the specimens, the visitor center offers the best way to experience these ancient treasures.
"It's a partnership that allows us to bring fossils that we have in our collection over to Pocatello, and it allows the state Museum to bring fossils that they have in their collection over to us," said Michael Irving, a ranger at the monument.
Most days, visitors experience fossils found in Hagerman, which are relatively recent by paleontological standards.
"The Pliocene Era was very much a time of mammals," Irving said. "If we're thinking millions of years ago, a lot of times people think dinosaurs... dinosaurs began to die out 66 million years ago, and that's really from that time is when mammals began to take over, and so the Pliocene Era was an era of mammals."
For several days throughout the summer, visitors can interact with much older specimens brought by the Idaho State Museum of Natural History.
"And it allows the people who visit these different places to expand the experience and get to see more than what we have," Irving said.
The dinosaur fossils from the Idaho Natural History Museum will return to Hagerman again on Aug. 20.
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