S182JUL29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending July 29, 2005

S.182 A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes.

BRIEF

The Secretary of Interior would establish using donated land the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center near (but not to be part of) the Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. The Center would be used to sure and store and research items in the Dinosaur Monument collection and any other collection that enters into an agreement with the Center.

The committee report went further in explanation, “Dinosaur National Monument was designated by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Since that time, the Monument has been a haven for both amateur and expert dinosaur enthusiasts. Known worldwide as one of the most productive sites for Jurassic era fossils and bones, the Monument has over 600,000 artifacts in its collection. The collection is housed in 17 separate facilities in the park and many of them are unavailable to the public. In addition, many of the artifacts are at risk because they are not stored in facilities that meet National Park Service standards for artifact storage.

“S. 182 would establish the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center (Center). The 22,500 square foot facility would be constructed outside the Monument's boundary at a site near the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum (Museum) in Vernal, Utah. The curatorial and research facility will fill the role of fossil and archeological collection center and archive for the Monument. Additionally, it will fill operational requirements for the park and other partners, including the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. By locating the Center adjacent to the Museum, interns, park staff, and visiting scholars will have access to the Museum's exhibit space, classrooms, conference rooms, and education facilities. S. 182 would also authorize the Secretary of the Interior to accept the donation of the building site. The National Park Service estimates the total cost of building the Center to be approximately $8.7 million.”

Sponsor: Senator Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (July 27, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: “CBO estimates that the Federal Government would spend $8.8 million over the next 5 years to construct the research and curatorial center. We estimate that the cost of furnishing, equipping, operating, and maintaining the center after 2010 would be about $400,000 a year, assuming the availability of appropriated funds.”

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