Mammoth memories
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| Jana Abrams, Scenic
Byways Coordinator and Bill Broadbear from the US Forest Service
cut the ribbon to officially open the new kiosk located at
Huntington Reservoir, the site of the mammoth
discovery. |
By PATSY STODDARD
Editor
A beast who roamed Huntington Canyon 11,000 years ago is still a
cause for excitement and interest these many years later. The
mammoth was discovered at the Huntington Reservoir in Huntington
Canyon on 8-8-88 by Nielson Construction backhoe operator, Chris
Nielson.
At first they thought they had dug up an old tree or something,
but closer examination revealed the ancient creature. Authorities
were notified and an official removal process began.
Visitors again gathered at the site of the mammoth discovery on
Friday to dedicate the new kiosk and information center recently
constructed at the site. The event brought back many memories of
the discovery. The Huntington/Eccles Scenic Byway is a diverse
route with magnificent scenery which happens to go past the mammoth
discovery site. Jana Abrams is the Energy Loop Byways Coordinator
and instrumental in garnering the funds for this mammoth project.
She said, "This kiosk is a new visitor attraction. We want visitors
to stay a little longer in our communities. We have such a diverse
community here along the Energy Loop and Huntington and Eccles
Canyons. This byway ties everything together, mining, farming,
travel and recreation. This kiosk was made possible with a grant
from the Federal Highway division. Bill Broadbear from the US
Forest Service worked on the trail down to the kiosk and the slope
is ADA accessible. We have had a great partnership with the forest
service."
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| The new kiosk is nestled
down among the trees with a gravel pathway leading
down. |
Abrams pointed out the long process of information gathering and
photo gathering of the actual mammoth find to go on the information
panels. She appreciates artist Joe Venus for the painted mural
which depicts how the area may have looked when the mammoth roamed
the country; this painted mural is on one of the panels.
Abrams thanked Dawnette Tuttle from Orangeville for the use of
her pictures and the newspaper clippings from the time of the
discovery. A second part of the kiosk project has been the
installation of low wattage radio antennas which will broadcast
information about the area. Information will include: camping info,
weather conditions, special activities, etc. This station will be
AM 1610.
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| The mammoth cast as it
stands in the CEU museum in
Price. |
Abrams introduced the speakers for the program-ribbon cutting
ceremony which included: Martha Hayden, Utah Geologic Survey; Don
Burge, retired curator for the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric
Museum; Bill Broadbear, Manti-LaSal National Forest Service; Carlos
Machado, Federal Highways Administration Utah Division; and Gael
Hill, State Scenic Byway coordinator.
Hayden was called to the site of the discovery on Aug. 8, 1988.
She worked with Dave Madsen and Dave Gillette in the mammoth
removal process. The bones were wrapped in burlap to prevent them
from drying out. The bone unearthed by Nielson was a tusk or
humerus bone. It was lying on the ground. She said there was great
cooperation with Nielson Construction, the forest service and the
volunteers at the site. At least 5,000 people visited the site
during the time of excavation. She described the find as one of the
greatest ice age fossil finds ever as the mammoth was 95 percent
complete in its location. A short faced bear was also located at
the site. The site had been a bog which was created by a glacier
slide and became the mammoth's resting spot. He was deposited at
the end of the ice age and was a very old male, 60-65 years old, at
the end of his life. Fur needles were preserved inside his stomach.
Which is a poor diet for a mammoth of this size and the mammoth was
found to have arthritis.
Burge spoke next saying next August will mark the 20 year
anniversary of the mammoth discovery. He said, "The discovery has
changed the course of the CEU museum. There have been more than 30
casts made of this mammoth. The South Dakota Mammoth site even has
one of our mammoths. There are two in Japan, one in a Los Angeles
museum and one in Canada."
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| One of the interpretive
panels explaining the mammoth
discovery. |
Burge said some of the bones were kept in kiddie pools around
the museum to keep them from drying out. There were arguments at
first of who owned the mammoth. Who did he belong to? The CEU
museum became accredited so it could serve as a repository for the
mammoth bones. Burge said the so called experts originally
identified the beast as a mastodon and he was glad to point out to
them the real identity of the creature. A mammoth has teeth similar
to elephant teeth and mastodon teeth are more like human molars. A
mammoth cast is at the CEU museum and the original mammoth skeleton
is there and available for public viewing. It is stored in a
conservation lab where the relative humidity is kept at 30 percent
and the room temperature 68 degrees. Burge said that's hard to do
here where the air is so dry. "We did more things right than wrong
and the bones are still in good condition," said Burge.
Broadbear said one day during the discovery period a reporter
from the New York Times showed up and wanted to do a story about
the mammoth. Interest in the mammoth discovery went worldwide.
Broadbear said he is impressed with the kiosk and the informative
panels to tell the story of the discovery so visitors to the site
come away with an appreciation of the site and the mammoth.
Machado said he works with the scenic byways to help them with
grants to do projects. He enjoys these partnerships and the work
they do to be good stewards of the natural resources. He believes
the scenic byways are the heart and soul of America. He described
scenic byways as an extensive collection of special places. He is
working to bring additional funds to Utah for projects. "I have
never been here before and am surprised with the scenic views." The
Utah Division since 1992, has had $7.3 million procured for 84
projects.
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| Don Burge speaks about
the mammoth discovery. |
Hill rounded out the program with her description of the scenic
byways program. "The byways connect our country. Utah has better
byways than many states." She is proud of the mammoth project and
the Scenic highway 89 project from Manti to Kanab.
Abrams encouraged tourists to visit the mammoth kiosks and enjoy
the discovery of the mammoth.
Wayne Nielson from Nielson Construction said they were working
on a new dam at the time of the discovery. The old dam had begun to
leak and was being replaced. His cousin Chris Nielson was
excavating when he brought up a bone, it was 50-60 feet down, kind
of in a bowl area. The bog area acted as a refrigerator for the
skeleton and the cool mud kept it preserved for approximately
11,000 years.
The mammoth and its story will continue to be an asset to the
Castle Valley region as its notoriety extends
worldwide.