Nebraskaland

MARCH 2015 • NEBRASKAland 47 "No, I'm not hunting for artifacts, archaeologists do that. I'm a paleontologist looking for fossils. Nope, it's a Columbian mammoth; the woolly kind lived farther north." Nebraska's mammoths were far less hairy and bigger than woollies – more majestic. "No, it's not a dinosaur, we don't find those here." During the dinosaur era, Nebraska was covered by inland sea as deep as our state capitol. Seventy to 80 million years ago, imposing predators such as the mosasaur swam here – 40 feet long, reptilian, with a jaw full of dagger teeth. Nebraska's Panhandle is a fossil hotspot. Craig Lind, the area's highway district engineer, has worked with Tucker for years. "Everyone looks at Shane's projects positively; we know it's important in preserving our history," said Lind, who often assigns workers to ensure Tucker has all he needs. "People are eager to get that assignment. They want to be part of the discovery," he said. Some sites are legendary, such as when huge metal blades revealed a 23-million-year-old riverbed near Gering. Flush with fossils – 60 species in all – it included camels, tapirs, bear dogs and three-toed horses. Without Shane's trained eyes following loud, dusty machines, most sites would remain anonymous. "Equipment operators have their mind on where the dirt goes," he said. "When I spot something, then work comes to a brief halt and sometimes things get tense. Contracted operators think their project might be shut down, but I explain that I only need to work a small area and that they can keep working just up the road." Moods shift as Shane explains what they're looking at and operators' concern turns to fascination. "Discoveries have never stopped a highway project," says Shane. "It's a cooperative effort and road crews always find a way to work around us." After transport to the lab, Shane and his students remove soil and stabilize fragile fossil material to become part of the vast, internationally-recognized collections in the University of Nebraska State Museum. Many are on exhibit in Lincoln's Morrill Hall on UN-L's city campus. During colder months, Tucker speaks to organizations statewide, leaving both kids and adults awestruck by our distant past. But it's springtime Shane craves: diesel engines, dusty roadsides and that new species that might pop up. "It's extremely rare for a bone to become a fossil in the first place," he says, "then to be the first person to see it after thousands or millions of years – that's exciting. I feel forever tied to those fossils and I want to find more." ■ Mark Harris is the Associate Director of the University of Nebraska State Museum. Shane Tucker covers an ancient tortoise with a plaster field jacket in preparation for transport to UN-L's State Museum. Department of Roads employee Lucky Franklin transports the giant tortoise shell to an awaiting truck as Tucker inspects its underbelly.

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