The Ground Beneath Our Work: Community and Responsibility in Paleontology

Responsible & ethical stewardship is crucial to the world of paleontology – and not in the way you may be thinking. Stewardship for us at Triebold Paleontology, Inc. is so much more than a catchy corporate slogan or environmental sustainability policy. For us, stewardship is about building relationships and supporting communities.

What do I mean by this? Stay with me for a moment…

I love spending my summers out on ranches. And no, I’m not a rancher nor do I have any family who does it for a living. I’m definitely a city kid. But for 20-plus years, these are the places I came of age, and this is where most of my longest standing friendships are.

I’ve been conscripted into and trained by local fire departments to help with range fires and I’ve occasionally done shovel work along the fire breaks when one breaks out.

In addition to being volunteered for cattle herding, Jacob has also been enlisted to dig fire lines for raging grass fires.

I’ve helped move cows between pastures, and I’ve even done branding (not my favorite activity, but I’ll do it).

One ranching family was even gracious enough to attend my wedding. Now, I’m bringing my 2-year-old daughter to the very same ranches I grew up on.

Believe it or not, all of these longstanding relationships grew from my time at Triebold Paleontology and hunting for fossils. These relationships have developed me as a person, as a leader, and developed TPI as a company.

It’s easy to forget that in all of the science, the busy museum halls, movie consulting deals, reality television and documentary appearances, headlines, loud arguments at scientific conferences…this all started on a piece of ground that is primarily used for grazing cattle, and those cows are owned by someone making a living and feeding their family.

Community involvement doesn’t just have to extend to the occasional day of ranch hand work. If you’re a researcher, you can acknowledge landowners in papers or name new taxa after them.

Jacob and Mike Triebold plan the days events with the locals in Dighton, Kansas

Every now and then we’re able to get involved with a local museum and install a cast of a fossil that was found nearby.

Strip mining for fossils and taking advantage of Farmer Joe in Western Kansas isn’t really an option if you’re looking to make the next big find. Most ranchers have horror stories of someone trying to do that and the perpetrators are never allowed back. It’s easier and more fun to be nice to people!

It may sound a little sappy, but the bond you create with people is going to take you further than the product you create. That’s probably true for most industries but it’s starkly obvious when you’re out in the badlands.