The Fight to Establish Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado Saved inTime Estella B. Leopold and Herbert W. Meyer American West / Environment / Legal history n the summer of 1969, a federal district court in Denver, Colorado, heard arguments in one of the nation’s first explicitly environmental cases, in which the Defenders of Florissant, Inc. opposed real estate interests intent on developing lands containing an extraordinary set of ancient fossils. This book, the first account of the fight to preserve the Florissant fossil beds, tells a story of environmental activism that remains little known almost fifty years after the coalition’s victory. The principal author, Estella Leopold, was a major participant in the process. Thecaserodeagroundswellofpublicsupportfromanunlikelycoalition of people—conservationists, scientists, outdoor enthusiasts, and local ranchers—whose voices were echoed and reechoed by the press. Hanging in the balance was a crucial scientific issue: whether the courts would or could successfully protect a remarkable site replete with unique plant and insect fossils delicately preserved over millions of years. Their disturbance would be a loss forever. Today, there is hardly a paleontologist in the world who has not heard of the fossil beds at Florissant. And because of the site’s ultimate preservation as a national monument, many have been able to see these marvels firsthand, as have hundreds of thousands of visitors from all walks of life. Paleobotanist Estella B. Leopold is professor emerita of biology at the University of Washington. National Park Service paleontologist Herbert W. Meyer is the author of The Fossils of Florissant. Cover illustrations courtesy of the author Cover design by Cheryl Carrington “Reads like a mystery thriller wherein a handful of committed environmentalists forestall the destruction of America’s premier fossil beds. Brings to mind John Nichols’s The Milagro Beanfield War and Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang. It is a true story with a happy ending (unless you’re a real estate developer).” —Jack Loeffler, author of Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey University of New Mexico Press unmpress.com |800•249•7737 ISBN 978-0-8263-5236-1 ËxHSKIMGy352361zv*:+:!:+:! S ave d in T ime Leopold and Meyer Leopold&Meyer_SavedinTime_CVR_FNL.indd 1 7/23/12 3:29 PM Saved in Time [3.81.97.37] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 03:24 GMT) ...