CSBR: Natural History Collections: Protecting and Improving Orange County's (California) Palentological Collection (OCPC)

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Orange County's Paleontological Collection (OCPC) contains fossils collected over 50 years by mitigation at construction sites, as required by California State and Orange County (OC) laws and regulations. Over six million fossils are stored at OC's John D. Cooper Archaeological and Paleontological Center, and managed by California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). This major collection is important for understanding the rich history of life in western North America and the north Pacific from ~180 million years ago to Recent. The collection is diverse and contains many unique, undescribed and unrecorded species. These microfossils inform our understanding of ancient environments and past climates. Some are already being studied by international and national paleontologists, used by K-16 educators, and used in the preparation of public exhibits. This project proposes to archive images - and associated data - of these fossils into the Center's database and make them publically available on-line. As a result, the enormous potential of OCPC's holdings for research, training and outreach, previously hindered by inaccessibility, will be realized. These activities will be accomplished through improved security and preservation of OCPC through the application of modern storage and curatorial standards. This project will enable The John D. Cooper Center to protect and preserve fossils recovered from OC by providing modern museum storage, including new cabinets and supporting infrastructure for approximately 100,000 fossils. Specimens will be inspected, repaired, uniquely numbered, and stored with a data card in museum trays placed in new cabinets arranged in stratigraphic order from Jurassic to Recent. Four CSUF graduate students will be employed, over the three years of the project, to assist with collection reorganization and curation. For each specimen, supporting data and images will be added to the Center's Specify 6 database by staff and volunteers. The proper storage of these specimens will allow reorganization of the remaining fossils, for which no funds are requested, and provide some room to decrease congestion. The application of modern curatorial standards, databasing and reorganization of OCPC will enable research by students, faculty and visiting scientists, and the collection's use in public events, exhibits and K-16 education. CSUF has a large undergraduate population, including a high percentage of under-represented minorities, who can be potential recruits for participation in this project. Additional information about OCPC's research and outreach programs is available at www.jdcoopercenter.org.