News
Veterans Day 2016 marks the 20 year anniverary of Douglas, Hazel & Christopher Wolfe discovering the Zuni Basin with Zuniceratops christopheri and 3 othr new species of dinosaurs as well as an ecosystem from 90mya.
It is with great joy that we are now devoting our lives full time to scientific research and education programs here in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona.
We look forward to many more discoveries and sharing them with you!
Entering the hidden basin!
This was the first bone discovered by Hazel as we descended into the magical basin!
Our beloved Tasha at the site named "Two Rocks Balanced". Christopher suggested this name for the hidden basin. 20 years later this hoodoo has melted and there are no rocks left!
Douglas's first discovery was hundred of fragments of Jeyawati rugoculus.
Fragments of bones lay undisturbed on the surface.
Christopher climbed the hill at Douglas's urging to discover these bones. They turned out to be the holotype horn for Zuniceratops christopheri.
Douglas discovered the HBNE Bone bed in September of 1997. We excavated this bone bed for 10 years! It produced at least 6 different size Zuniceratops and also the Therizinosaur, Nothronychus mckinleyi.
Our first ZBPP logo showing Zuniceratops, Nothronychus and our soon to be named theropod.
Thank you to all our supporters who made it possible for us to attend this important conference! It was the largest meeting of SVP. It was fantastic to see so many young people and lots of young women. It is amazng how much technology is changing the study of paleontology. We are honored to be a part of SVP helping to understand our planet and preserving this knowledge for generations to come.
Douglas & Hazel Wolfe "Track Poster" for SVP 2016
Hazel's first scientific publication/poster with Douglas.
WMDEC Intern Kara Kelley created this paleo-reconstruction for Wolfe & Wolfe SVP "Tracks Poster".
Douglas Wolfe during poster presentation time.
Douglas & Hazel with Mike Treibold's reconstruction of T-rex eating Triceratops.
The Grand Hotel was filled with a variety of Ceratopsian skulls.
SVP welcome reception was held at Natural History Museum of Utah. The displays were awesome!
Chris Wolfe with Zuniceratops christopheri displayed on the Ceratopsian skull wall at Natural History Museum of Utah.
The Ceratopsian skull wall showing Zuniceratops in relationship to later horned dinosaurs.
Nothronychus displayed on back wall with Falcarius a primitive therizinosaur from Utah.
The annual auction is always filled with amazing deals and lots of fun!
Talks and posters all done and now for the awards. Wonderful to see so many women recognized for their contributions.
Thrilled to have Interns Ben Mohler & Kara Kelley join us at SVP. Thank you Lisa Kelley for all your support!
WMDEC Interns Ben Mohler & Kara Kelley getting ready for fun at the after party!
Hazel, Ben & Kara having fun in the photo booth!
We were rewarded with this incredible sunset over the Springerville Volcano field as we ended our 12 hour drive home.
Hazel Wolfe & Judy Evans spent the day sharing different kinds of fossils and how they are formed with classes and the community of the Whiteriver Nation on April 29, 2016.
Intern Ben Mohler, spent over 350 hours this summer assisting at the Center, at community events and in the field. Ben will be returning for field work in October and will be attending the International Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Conference with WMDEC at the end of October in Salt Lake City.
Crew members of the Southwest Paleontological Society from the Arizona Natural History Museum joined WMDEC for an expedition to work on the Zuni Basin fauna.
University of North Carolina has partnered with WMDEC to conduct research in the Zuni Basin. Dr. Lindsay Zanno and her crew are recovering a turtle discovered by Southwest Paleontological Society member Sherman Mohler. Lindsay blogs here about her research.
Cooking together and replenishing ourselves after a long day. Sharing stories around the campfire and star gazing rounds out the day nicely.
Oaklhoma Natural History Museum
Dr. Rich Cifelli collecting micro samples for further analysis at the lab. We are thrilled to be working with Rich to look for the small animals from the middle Cretaceous.
This beautiful Tenontosaurus half plaque was donated by Oaklhoma Natural History Museum, one of our new partners.
Oaklhoma Natural History Museum donated these beautiful casts to WMDEC, representing animals from 110 mya. These casts provide important comparative specimens to WMDEC exhibits.
Douglas Wolfe & Dr. Andrew McDonald are partners on the research in the 80mya Menefee Formation. Dr. McDonald began research with Douglas Wolfe as a 15 year old on the Zuni Basin Paleontological Project.
Intern Ben Mohler viewing excavation site of a partial skeleton from 80my old rocks. Many excellent discoveries were made and lots of bone in the rock waiting for next field season!
Small town parades are the best! Springerville/Eagar has less than 5,000 population, but on July 4th town can swell to over 30,000 as everyone comes home for this annual event along with one of the longest running real cowboy rodeo's in AZ.
Our float won first place for community organizations. It was undoubtedly due to this amazing knit flag lent to us by Anita Dugat-Greene.
July 23, 2016 the Round Valley Cub Scouts joined us for a geotour exploring the ancient oceans and swamps from 90mya.
Intern Narayana Shippee in the field looking for new Triassic outcrops. Narayana works at the Center 12 hours a month throughout the year.
WMDEC had a booth and various children's activities at Greer Cafe for the weekend.
Intern Kara Kelley worked over 150 hours this summer in the field, at the Center and at community events. Kara will be returning for field work in October and will be attending the International Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Conference with WMDEC at the end of October in Salt Lake City.
Intern Kara Kelley seeking new Triassic localities.
WMDEC is working with White Mountain Nature Center to provide educational lectures and activities for the community throughout the year. This event was Sept 3, 2016.
Closed early to attend the WMNC Annual Benefit Dinner.
This year will mark the 20th anniversay of the Wolfe families first discovery and the foundation of the Zuni Basin Paleontology Project.
Throught the year we will be publishing retrospectives, summaries, new research, and even media, based on the findings of the Zuni project. Even more exiting is the upcoming Menefee Project field season, the ongoing development of exhibits and in house programs at the Center, as well as new partnerships and projects we wish we could tell you more about now.
Check back soon for more frequent updates.
