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Museum of the Rockies buys Egg MountainConservancy will hold conservation easement 10-28-04 Choteau, MT – Egg Mountain, site of one of North America’s premier dinosaur discoveries, will soon have a new owner. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman has agreed to purchase the 553-acre property west of Choteau from The Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy will retain a conservation easement on the property. “Egg Mountain, so rich in dinosaur history, has been tremendously important for the museum. We’re pleased we’re able to purchase this property, where we’ll continue our paleontology research and education programs,” said the Museum Dean and Director Sheldon McKamey. The Museum’s curator of paleontology, Jack Horner, who rose to international fame for his theories based on the dinosaur bones found at the site, calls Egg Mountain “the most significant dinosaur research site in the world.” The property will be re-named the Beatrice R. Taylor Paleontology Research Site in honor of Bozeman resident Beatrice Taylor, whose family donated the funds for the purchase. Taylor first visited Egg Mountain in 1983 and was a frequent volunteer on the field crews. Currently she is chair of the Museum’s National Advisory Board and is a past board president. She has also chaired several capital campaigns. “The Taylor family chose to recognize Bea’s enduring commitment to the Museum of the Rockies in this manner,” said McKamey. A site dedication is planned for next summer. The Nature Conservancy purchased Egg Mountain in 1985 from the James and Marian Peebles family, as part of the Conservancy’s larger purchase of the Pine Butte Swamp Preserve. The Conservancy leased the property to the Peebles for grazing, while allowing the Museum to run a paleontology field camp. As the new owner, the Museum plans to continue that lease agreement. “We’re very pleased that the Peebles will continue to be stewards of this area for us,” said Carl Lehrkind III, chair of the Museum’s board of directors. The Conservancy is selling the property at its appraised value and will retain a conservation easement over the property, which lowers the purchase price for the Museum. The Conservancy will use the proceeds from the sale to fund its land conservation work on the Rocky Mountain Front. “The Museum of the Rockies is in the paleontology business, so it’s fitting that it takes ownership of this property and becomes the steward of its paleontological treasures. Through the conservation easement, we’ll continue to make sure the natural values of this site are protected,” said Dave Carr, the Conservancy’s Rocky Mountain Front program director. Egg Mountain started its ascent to fame in 1978 when Bynum resident and fossil enthusiast Marion Brandvold discovered the fossilized baby dinosaurs there. Brandvold showed the fossils to Jack Horner, then a fossil preparator at Princeton University who was on vacation in Montana, and he immediately recognized the importance of the find. The discovery led Horner to his now widely accepted theory of maternal nurturing by the good mother lizard. He named her “Maiasaura peeblesorum” after the Peebles family. The Museum has held paleontology field schools at Egg Mountain for years, and continues to bring tours and workshops to the site, as does the Old Trail Museum in Choteau. Sam Rose, board chairman of the Old Trail Museum, said the sale is “welcome and exciting news. We look forward to a long productive relationship with the Museum of the Rockies in providing educational programs to dinosaur enthusiasts. We believe this collaboration will attract visitors to the Choteau area.” “We want to continue to be responsive to the local community and its interest in Egg Mountain,” said McKamey. The Nature Conservancy “is glad that this amazing paleontology resource will continue to be held in the public trust through its ownership by the Museum of the Rockies. This is a great outcome for this site, for the community of Choteau and for dinosaur enthusiasts around the world,” said Jamie Williams, the Conservancy’s state director. ### The Museum of the Rockies, in partnership with Montana State University, reaches diverse communities with engaging exhibits, educational programs and original research that advance public understanding of the collections. Visit museumoftherockies.org for more information. The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit conservation organization that conserves critical habitats for plants, animals and natural communities. Since 1979, the Conservancy’s Montana chapter, based in Helena and with six community-based programs around the state, has worked with landowners to conserve over 486,850 acres of land in Montana. For more information, visit our web site: Nature.org/Montana
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