GRAND CANYON – Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Fossil Day and the 26th anniversary of National Public Lands Day fee-free on Sept. 28.
This year, a special celebration of National Fossil Day
featuring the rich paleontological heritage of Grand Canyon is being held here
as one of the park’s commemorative centennial events. Officially celebrated on
Oct. 16, the National Park Service’s main National Fossil Day event will be
held at the South Rim on Sept. 27 and 28.
National Fossil Day events include a paleontology symposium Sept. 27 at 7:30
p.m. at the Shrine of Ages, featuring four guest speakers discussing shark,
invertebrate, and cave fossils, and vertebrate tracks and traces.
Visitors can attend various events and activities on Sept. 28, which include a
ranger-led walk discussing the 270-million-year-old marine fossils exposed
along the Rim Trail, an interactive photo booth, fossil-themed arts and crafts
activities, Q&A sessions with paleontologists, and state and national
partner organization booths. The celebration concludes with a special program
at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of Ages given by the National Park Service’s Senior
Paleontologist Vincent Santucci. The schedule is available at: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/2019-national-fossil-day-celebration.htm.
In addition to the events of the day, Grand Canyon National Park and the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services are conducting a special Naturalization
Ceremony at 10 a.m. at Mather Amphitheater.
Visitors to national parks can participate in National Public Lands Day by
visiting a park for free, signing up for a volunteer work project, or by sharing your
favorite outdoor activity on social media with the hashtag #NPSVolunteer,
#FindYourPark, and #NPLD!
Visitors who arrive at Grand Canyon on Sept. 28 will be allowed to enter the park free of charge. The fee-free designation does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions. Those who plan to spend time in the park beyond Sept. 28 will need to pay the regular entrance fee for the remainder of their stay. The next fee-free day will be Nov. 11, in honor of Veterans Day.
The 23rd annual public condor release is also occurring in Northern Arizona on Sept. 28 at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument at 11 a.m. The public is invited to watch The Peregrine Fund release several captive-bred young California Condors into the wild. More information is available at: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ca-condor-release-saturday-sept-28-at-vermilion-cliffs.htm.
