James R. and Laurie J. Macdonald, authors of “A Landscape Rich With Life” in Part 2, are paleontologists who live in Sunnyvale, California, and teach nearby.
Doris B. Gates, writer of “Birding Along the Niobrara” in Part 3, is a retired biology professor who lives in Chadron, Nebraska.
Jay H. Matternes, who painted the wildlife panoramas and animal features on the cover and in Part 2, is a paleontological reconstruction artist who lives in Fairfax, Virginia. In Part 2 his illustrations appear on pages 20-21, 24, 25, 27-33, 54-59, 64-69. American Museum of Natural History 9 Cope. Greg Beaumont 14, 81-84. Carnegie Museum 38-41. Library of Congress 43-45. James O. Milmoe 12-13, 15, 16, 76. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University 8. All other illustrations are from the files of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and the National Park Service.
The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.
_Through the remains of animals long extinct, excavated here at this site, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument tells the story of the Miocene Epoch—the Age of Mammals—that occurred 5 to 23 million years ago. The scene on the front cover is from a mural by artist Jay H. Matternes that depicts animals of the Early Miocene._
[Illustration: _In addition to fossils, the park has an extensive collection of Plains Indian art and artifacts, such as this shirt that belonged to Red Cloud._]
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
—Relocated all image captions to be immediately under the corresponding images, removing redundant references like “preceding page”.
—Silently corrected a few palpable typos.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.