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You are here: Home / Interview / Avocational Interviews / Paleo-Interview with Travis Wellman

July 24, 2018 by Tony Martin

Paleo-Interview with Travis Wellman

Travis Wellman is the Operations Manager at Stonerose Interpretive Center and Eocene Fossil Site in Republic, Washington, which is world famous for its Eocene plant and insect fossils. He started working at Stonerose after graduating from high school in 2008. His dedication and continuity at the Center has been invaluable for their success, and he and Director Katherine Meade are responsible for ensuring that both the general public and professional paleontologists have access to the site. Both Travis and Katherine plan to join the Paleontological Society, which offers discounted memberships for avocational paleontologists. (Join online here.)

Travis Wellman (Operations Manager) and Katherine Meade (Director) of the Stonerose Interpretive Center and Eocene Fossil Site, Republic, Washington, with Eocene rocks of the site behind them. (Photo courtesy of Stonerose Interpretive Center.)

Tell us a little about the history of the Stonerose Interpretive Center and Eocene Fossil Site and your role as its Operations Manager.

The Stonerose Interpretive Center was established in 1989, after a decade of collection and scientific study of the fossils here. Although the fossils were known throughout history, they weren’t regarded as particularly significant until 1977. That was the year that artist and Burke Museum associate, Wes Wehr, convinced his young friend, Kirk Johnson, to take him on a road trip to eastern Washington. They stopped alongside the main street of Republic to explore, and discovered just how diverse and interesting our fossils were.

By 1989, with a lot of work by a dedicated group of citizens, the non-profit Friends of Stonerose Fossils was formed and the public was welcomed to visit, hunt for, and keep their fossil finds.

Stonerose was founded with the goal of furthering scientific study of the fossils found here, and to increase public science education. As the Operations Manager, I work with our associated researchers, I manage our seasonal staff, maintain our database, provide fossil identifications, and oversee the daily operations.

Panorama of the outcrop at the Stonerose Interpretive Center and Eocene Fossil site in Republic, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Meade.)

 

How did you become interested in paleontology?

Like most children, I developed a fascination with dinosaurs at a young age, although my interest was bolstered by the first Jurassic Park movie coming out when I was three years old. Despite being afraid of parts of that movie, I watched it repeatedly through my childhood. So really you could say that it was a movie that initially got me interested in paleontology. However, I didn’t consider a career in paleontology until after I had graduated from high school.

Travis teaching about the importance of the Stonerose Interpretive Center and its fossils at a school in the Bethel District of Pierce County, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Meade.)

We already know your favorite fossil site, but is there a second-best favorite?

This is a tough one, but I would have to say the Chuckanut Formation [Eocene, northwestern Washington] would be my second-best favorite, because of the amazing palm fronds found there.

What is your favorite type of fossil?

My favorite type of fossil are plant fossils, especially of leaves. They’re so gorgeous and lifelike after millions of years. There is also a wealth of information you can learn from fossilized leaves. I like the sycamore leaves the best, because of the size variations, from the miniscule to the massive.

Eocene age (49-million-years old) sassafras leaf from the Stonerose site. (Photo courtesy of Stonerose Interpretive Center.)

What was your favorite fossil discovery at the Stonerose site?

My personal favorite discovery is a piece I found about eight years ago, it has five alder leaves fanned out across it.  It’s not scientifically important, it’s just a beautiful piece, like a piece of art. My favorite find by a visitor is a bird. It’s not pretty, and it hasn’t even been fully identified yet. However, it was recently sent to one of our researchers for further study. While we have found many feathers, it is the only bird found in 29 years of our operation!

Florissantia quilchenensis, one of the many exquisitely preserved fossil plants at the Stonerose Interpretive Center. (Photo courtesy of Stonerose Interpretive Center.)

How has the Stonerose Interpretive Center contributed to professional research?

The Stonerose Interpretive Center contributes to professional research by allowing the public to dig at the fossil site. This generates many interesting and new discoveries that researchers from around the world use in their studies. There is a core group of several researchers that visit yearly to study our material and have material loaned to them. Then there are other peripheral researchers who visit or request loans more intermittently.

Fossil earwig (Dermaptera) from the Stonerose Interpretive Center. (Photo courtesy of Stonerose Interpretive Center.)

Is there anything else you would like to say about avocational paleontology?

I think avocational paleontology is a key part of scientifically educating the public. Our approach of letting the public dig at our site helps bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general public by turning regular people into citizen scientists and making them part of the scientific process. I think this helps make it all the more “real” to them. A person can read about fossils, look at images of them, or see them in museums, but none of that can compare to the feeling of splitting open a rock and knowing that you are the first ever to see the fossil inside!

Filed Under: Avocational Interviews, Interview

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Paleontological Society Geoscience Policy Internship [at the American Geosciences Institute]

The Paleontological Society will support one of its student members to become a Geoscience Policy Intern at the American Geosciences Institute in summer 2019. The intern will take on substantive work while at AGI. They will be immersed in the policy-making process in
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Internship alert!

Paleontological Society Geoscience Policy Internship [at the American Geosciences Institute]

The Paleontological Society will support one of its student members to become a Geoscience Policy Intern at the American Geosciences Institute in summer 2019. The intern will take on substantive work while at AGI. They will be immersed in the policy-making process in
Washington, DC, where they will observe, study, and report on how policy making intersects with and affects the geosciences. They will hone their writing and web publishing skills while gaining first-hand policy experience and improving their understanding of the legislative process.

Applicants must be current student members of the Paleontological Society. Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States, and currently enrolled in or have recently completed an undergraduate or graduate geoscience-related degree program. The total salary for the 12-week internship is $5,000. The start date is flexible and will be determined based on the schedule of
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The internship is based at AGI’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on the outskirts of Washington, DC.

To apply, visit www.americangeosciences.org/policy/internships-and-fellowships, click on the “Apply Here” link for the Summer Paleontological Society Geoscience Policy Internship.

Select “Summer 2019 AGI/Paleontological Society Geoscience Policy Internship” from the pull-
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Application deadline: March 1, 2019

AGI’s Geoscience Policy program represents the shared interests of the geoscience community in Washington, D.C., and actively works with Congress and federal agencies to foster better communication and public policy for the geosciences in areas including water, energy and
mineral resources, natural hazards, environmental protection, and federal funding for geoscience research and education.

For more information, please contact:
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Are you interested in outreach and education in paleontology?

The Paleontological Society offers outreach and education grants to support activities involving educational outreach and community engagement in paleontology.

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Applications for the summer 2019 Analytical Paleobiology Short Course are now open! Spend 4 weeks immediately following #NAPC2019 in Riverside, CA, perfecting and practicing data visualization and analysis technique's - including R.

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Analytical Paleobiology Summer Course

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#MuseumSelfieDay! Sue’s Skull at the Field Museum.

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Dear Colleagues/ PS Students,

The Paleontological Society is soliciting nominations for a Student Representative to Council.

Eligibility: We encourage nominations from paleontology graduate students who are early-mid stage in their graduate programs from all backgrounds and institutions, particularly those that have historically been under-represented on the Paleontological Society Council.

The Role: Student Representatives serve as voices for student needs in the Society and play leading roles in student activities including organizing student events at the Geological Society of America Conference. Student Representatives are further encouraged to develop and lead new student initiatives. In this role, students gain knowledge of the inner-workings of an international organization and experience in professional service.

The selected Student Representative (who will start her/his role in the Fall) will join current Student Representative Bridget Kelly and serve a two-year term. Student Representatives attend two Council meetings per year (one during fall at the Geological Society of America Conference and the other during spring in Bethesda, MD).

Application: Please submit 1) a cover sheet listing your name, degree (MS, MA, PhD, etc.), expected graduation year, and email address, 2) a short letter of nomination from the student’s academic mentor or other faculty member at the student’s home institution and 3) a concise essay (of no more than 500 words) written by the student detailing interest in the role, previous experience with professional service (if any), and what the student hopes to accomplish through her/his service.

Applications should be sent by the student’s nominator as a single PDF to current Student Representative, Kristopher Kusnerik at kmkusnerik -at- ufl -dot- edu with the subject line “Student Representative Nomination (insert student’s name)”. Deadline for consideration is February 18, 2019.

The Student Representative will be selected in March. Please feel free to contact Kris with any additional questions at the above email.

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Kristopher Kusnerik & Bridget Kelly
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Research more, grade less?

Finish one juvenile and one adult stegosaur pelvis. Find new cretaceous dig site. Work to rescind the recent 9th circuit court opinion on ownership of fossils.

I want to learn more even at 64

Get as many days in the field as possible!

Working on my GIS prediction model using museum collection databases for the White River Group! Any help would be awesome!

To collect eurypterids and publish and paleobotany project

My goal for 2019: 4.000 fans for GeoHorizon ❤️

Make a paleo- scientific article haha!

Publish my thesis chapters!

To be able to get a perpetrator placement, anywhere.

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Have fewer bones to pick ...

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Find someone to do a PhD project under

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Take a Paleo course

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New opportunities from the Geological Society of America!

Geoscience Opportunities for Students and Early Career Professionals

GSA Graduate Student Research Grants
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Webinar: GSA Research Grants - Steps to Success [2nd Offering]
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GSA Undergraduate Research Grants for 2019
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Travel Award for 2019 GSA Northeastern Section Meeting
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GeoCorps™ America Positions for Summer 2019
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●Students, early career professionals, and others
●Apply by 2 Feb. 2019

National Park Service (NPS) Geoscientists-in-the-Parks (GIP) Positions for Summer 2019
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●Apply by 20 Jan. 2019

Webinar: Introduction to the 2019 NPS GIP Program
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Suggest Topics for New GSA Webinars
●Let GSA know what types of information about education and careers you’d like to see addressed in webinars
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Join GSA or Renew Your Membership
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This Thanksgiving (U.S.) we're grateful for our Paleo Society members, near and far!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Students: this summer's Analytical Paleobiology Summer Workshop applications are now open!

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Calling all #paleontology degree students! We're looking for a Student Representative on the PS Council - help play an integral role in society event planning and championing students! Please contact @KMKusnerik for details on how to apply, deadline Feb. 18, 2019.
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What inspires you? For Sarah Gomez-Lane, it's becoming a paleontologist! Celebrate this amazing 2nd grader who won this year's U.S. @Google #doodle! We're proud of you, Sarah, keep following your dreams! #DoodleforGoogle #GoogleDoodle #dinosaur https://t.co/j2bA4Sem7P https://t.co/MAuTbmUWSa
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