Paleontologist Michael J. Ryan discovers a missing link
in the evolutionary history of the horned dinosaurs

REYNOLDS, DAVID WEST "The Holy Grail of the Dinosaur Hunter: Paleontologist Michael J. Ryan discovers a missing link in the evolutionary history of the horned dinosaurs" Outpost Jul/Aug 2007 No. 58:16-20.

About the Outpost article by DAVID WEST REYNOLDS September 28, 2007

Phaeton's Chief Paleontologist Michael J. Ryan is a member of the Canadian chapter of the Explorers Club. When they heard about his discovery of yet another new dinosaur species (the second in two years), they wanted to do an article about it for their magazine, Outpost. I wrote the article myself, to ensure that certain points were made. Michael's discovery got very widespread coverage in the mainstream media, but almost no one mentioned the fact that the discovery was owed not only to Michael's sharp eye as a dinosaur hunter, but also to the positive relationships he has built with the land-owners and amateur fossil-hunters of Alberta.

Colleagues or competitors

Scientists and non-scientists interested in the same field discoveries often resent each other as competitors for limited resources. In the United States this has sometimes resulted in destructive antagonism between the two groups, as has occurred between archaeologists and collectors in the Midwestern states, for instance. To the academics, amateurs are often considered "pothunters" at best, and are generally suspected of being looters and grave robbers--as some of them indeed are. However, amateurs "on the fence" given nothing but contempt and criticism when they make inquiries to professionals are more likely to give up on any attempt at legitimacy and live up to academics' worst suspicions. Some of the appalling destruction of archaeological sites in the Midwest appears to have been carried out from sheer spite, with looters smashing artifacts in which they have no interest. Policing statewide wilderness areas is impossible. To bridge the community gap, some archaeologists have conducted outreach programs, with cases of notable success. Over the course of a few years some programs have been able to win over the amateur community as allies, and reduce incidents of illegal excavation and destruction.

It takes courage and faith for professionals to reach out in this fashion to those who may very well have caused greivous damage to cultural heritage that the professionals care deeply about. But it is clear that such heritage is more effectively protected by a community that has been taught and encouraged to care than one that is merely suspected and ineffectively policed. There will always be incorrigibles and malefactors who require such vigilance as society can afford. But it seems evident that the most effective defense for the irreplaceable evidence in the field is built on a foundation of cooperation and mutual respect between professionals and non-scientists.

At Phaeton Group we consider this kind of outreach an important part of our mission. Phaeton historical research specialist Carl R. Cart Jr., for example, has published articles encouraging the responsible investigation of local history in the kinds of magazines that are read by amateurs on both sides of the legitimacy fence, in the hope of promoting a sense of stewardship in the amateur community.

The situation in southern Alberta is far more positive than the aggravated relations one finds in many U.S. states. Many of the locals and ranchers living on the Alberta prairies have long been supportive of dinosaur research and exploration on their lands. Nonetheless, Ryan's outreach efforts have clearly been productive. Living up to the Phaeton ideal, he co-founded the Southern Alberta Dinosaur Research Group to foster good relations and open communication amongst the various stakeholders in the region. This organization musters volunteer teams every year who work the rural rangelands of the province, aiding Michael and his colleagues in the pursuit and study of paleontological evidence. Once in awhile, they encounter real treasures. One of them was Michael's latest new species, which he has named Albertaceratops, and this is the discovery treated in the Outpost article.