Bennett pushes for dino research center

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, says a new dinosaur research center is needed for Dinosaur National Monument and its partner, the Utah Field House of Natural History, in Vernal.

He introduced a bill Tuesday to allow the National Park Service to build it and call it the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center.

"This legislation will help protect the vast treasures of one of the world's premier dinosaur collections," Bennett said.

He said Dinosaur National Monument has more than 600,000 items in its collection, but they are scattered in 17 different locations in facilities that fail to meet many Park Service standards for collections preservation and protection.

Meanwhile, the state of Utah is nearing completion of its new, $6.5 million Field House museum in Vernal. Bennett said Vernal and Uintah County have agreed to donate land adjacent to it for the new federal research center.

"The national monument and its research staff and visitors will benefit from enhanced storage and display of the collections, while the state and the people of the Uintah Basin enjoy increased tourism as people travel to visit this state-of-the-art facility," he said.

Bennett said because the proposed center would be adjacent to the new state museum, National Park Service staff and visiting scholars would have access to the museum for space for classrooms, conferences, parking and other needs not included in the federal facility. And that would save money.

Bennett said the proposed facility would serve as the collection center for the park and its partners' fossil, archaeological and natural resources operations and collections, plus the park archives.

The bill was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

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