Dinosaur quarry closes center

Dinosaur National Monument's quarry visitor center 9 miles north of Jensen, Uintah County — one of Utah's most famous tourist spots — is closed indefinitely. The building has been condemned as unsafe.

From its opening in 1957 until now, the curved visitor center has housed a unique, active exhibit. Inside, tourists could see dinosaur bones still embedded in a cliff, and sometimes they could watch paleontologists work at the rock matrix.

The rock wall in the center has 1,500 fossil bones, and the center has "a paleontology laboratory, exhibits and a bookstore," says a Dinosaur National Monument Web site.

While the national monument, which straddles Utah and Colorado, offers other activities such as hiking, rafting and camping, most tourists who go to Vernal with the intention of visiting the national monument do so to "see this quarry," said Jim Kirkland, Utah's state paleontologist.

The nearest dinosaur exhibit is at the state field house museum in Vernal, which is not part of the monument.

Bill Johnson, executive director of economic development for Uintah County/Vernal City, said county officials have been aware of problems with the building for some time but were caught off guard by the announcement of the closure.

"It's vital to us; it will definitely hurt tourism," he said. "If people find out it's closed, that may very well influence their decision to come here. It's disappointing, it's very disappointing. It's an integral part of our tourism, especially right now at this time of year."

Over the years, Kirkland has seen continuing damage to the federal facility. The library had to be abandoned because support beams flexed through a wall. Gaps more than a foot wide have shown up where the building is pulling away from the cliff.

A lot of money will be needed to rebuild the facility, he said. "It's really depressing. . . .

"I've been watching this in slow motion" with the building "kind of imploding on itself," Kirkland said.

A telephone recording at the center says the closure went into effect Wednesday. It was "due to the instability of the building" and creates conditions that are "unsafe to visitor and staff," adds the recording.

A press release issued by Mary Risser, superintendent of the monument, says the center is closed for structural repairs.