Collection Upgrade and Improvement of Condon Fossil Museum

太平洋西北部的约翰戴组包括与陆相地层夹层的火山沉积物，其中保存着第三纪的动植物。俄勒冈大学的康登博物馆收藏了来自俄勒冈州约翰·戴床的32,000多具脊椎动物化石，以及涵盖更广泛地质时代的植物和无脊椎动物化石。这些藏品被列为古生物学研究的重要资源，收藏馆长威廉·奥尔博士建议对其状况进行重大改进。这些收藏品将安装在新装修的宿舍的高密度紧凑存储单元中，并将在此过程中进行盘点和重组。收集内容的计算机数据库将被实施，从而为研究界提供更好地访问这些重要化石的途径。地区性重要的收藏品，如康登博物馆，是国家研究基础设施的关键要素。它们为该地区的研究人员和学生提供了更方便的访问，并支持系统分类学、生态学和进化生物学方面的高级培训。如果将区域收藏归入几个国家资料库，这些和其他优点就会丧失。拟议中的馆藏改进将加强重要的古生物学研究和研究生培训，并保护我们国家的部分自然遗产。

The John Day Formation of the Pacific Northwest includes volcanic deposits interlayered with terrestrial strata, in which plants and animals from the Tertiary Epoch are preserved. The Condon Museum of the University of Oregon houses more than 32,000 fossil vertebrates from the John Day beds of Oregon, as well as plant and invertebrate fossils that cover a wider spectrum of geologic ages. This collection ranks as an important resource for paleontological research, and Dr. William Orr, Curator of the collection, proposes significant improvements in its condition. The collection will be installed in high density compactorized storage units in newly renovated quarters, and will be inventoried and reorganized in the process. A computer database of the collection's contents will be implemented, thereby providing the research community with better access to these important fossils. Regionally important collections such as the Condon Museum are critical elements of the nation's research infrastructure. They provide easier access by researchers and students within the region, and they support advanced training in systematics, ecology, and evolutionary biology. These and other advantages would be lost if regional collections were to be subsumed into a few national repositories. The proposed collection improvement will enhance important paleontological research and graduate training, and preserve part of our nation's natural heritage.