FEDERAL COLLECTIONS AS NATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (NMNH), INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY: HISTORY AND COLLECTION MANAGEMENT ISSUES
Cheryl F. Bright, Collection Manager; Chad Walter, Senior Data Manager;
and Tyjuana Nickens, Data Manager; Invertebrate Zoology,
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.

Beginning with the US Exploring Expedition collections, the National Museum of Natural History has had a collaborative partnership with various US governmental agencies charged with developing, managing and protecting America's biological and geological resources and her anthropological and cultural heritage. Today more than half of the specimens in the collections of NMNH's Department of Invertebrate Zoology can trace their origins to the collecting/research activities of a US government agency. Through the years, we have received large programmatic collections from the National Marine Fisheries Service (and its predecessors), the Office of Naval Research, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of the Interior (DOI). Before its closing, the Smithsonian Oceanographic sorting Center (SOSC) had a 30-year history of providing governmental agencies with sorting, identification, specimen distribution and specimen archiving services under a variety of contractual agreements. Currently the Department of Invertebrate Zoology had contractual agreements with the USGS Biological Research Division and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to provide specimen archiving services for specimens collected during DOI's oil and gas lease site environmental baseline surveys and for natural products survey voucher specimens (NCI). We also have a cooperative agreement with the NSF's Office of Polar Programs to provide a variety of collection and data management services for the US Antarctic Program collections. Typically these contracts fund only a fraction of the actual cost of processing, curating and storing these collections.

DEVELOPMENT OF A CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK FOR QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN FISH TAXONOMY ASSOCIATED WITH FAUNISTIC AND AQUATIC COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT
Stephen J. Walsh, Ph.D., USGS, Florida Caribbean Science Center, Gainesville, FL
Michael A. Meador, Ph.D., USGS, North Carolina Ecology Group, Raleigh, NC

Fish community structure is characterized by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program as part of a perennial, multidisciplinary approach to evaluating the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the nation's water resources. The objective of quality assurance/quality control of fish taxonomic data collected as part of the NAWQA Program is to establish uniform guidelines and protocols for the identification, processing, and archiving of fish specimens to ensure that accurate and reliable data are collected.

Staff of each NAWQA study unit, with cooperation from USGS biologists and fish taxonomic specialists, prepare a presampling study plan, a preliminary faunal list, and identify an ichthyological curation center for receiving preserved material. Problematic taxonomic issues and protected taxa are identified in the study plan, and collecting permits are obtained in advance of sampling activities. Qualified ichthyologists are selected to identify fish specimens in the field and to assist in determining what material should be sacrificed, fixed, and preserved for laboratory identification, selected for independent taxonomic verification, and placed in long-term storage as voucher collections in established natural history museums.

Quantitative and qualitative sampling of fishes follows standard methods previously established for the NAWQA Program. Processing of samples in the field and preparation of material to be returned to the laboratory or sent to an institutional repository follows commonly used ichthyological techniques. Taxonomic and collection data are tracked at all stages of processing and exchanged between all collaborating parties. Taxonomic identifications are reported using a standardized list of scientific names that provides nomenclatural consistency and uniformity across study units.

SCIENTIFIC SMUGGLING
Mike Osborn, Supervisory Wildlife Inspector, Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Law Enforcement, Torrance, CA

The illegal importation of rare and endangered wildlife and plants is a constant concern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Law Enforcement. The "scientific smuggler" is a new and growing breed of wildlife criminal both the Service and the scientific community need to better understand. Instead of more traditional methods of concealment, this smuggler will attempt to pass themselves off as a member of the scientific community, usually falsely claiming affiliation with a reputable institution. In the past five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had investigated and successfully prosecuted several major cases involving high value wildlife unlawfully entered into the U.S. in this manner.

Use of false documentation such as permits and letters of introduction are the standard method of operation. Acquiring letterheads from a university, museum or zoo by whatever means available, including theft and trash picking, they will fabricate official documents which identify them as being affiliated with a particular institution. These documents will be presented to a foreign authority with the hope of being granted permits otherwise unavailable to them. These false documents will also be used in an attempt to clear shipments upon entry into the U.S.

United States Inspectors as the ports of entry are faced with this dilemma regularly and there are a number of things legitimate scientific collectors and institutions can do to assist in both identifying and preventing this type of illegal wildlife trafficking. First, always declare your specimens upon return to the U.S. If applicable, carry identification which shows your affiliation with the institution you represent. For wildlife or plant specimens, contact the local Service or Department of Agriculture office at the location of your return to the U.S. so they may advise you on the laws and permits required. If provided specifics concerning your return, they can often meet you at the port of entry and assist you in the clearance process. When importing or exporting shipments through the mail, include the relevant permits and documents with the parcel. Always include a contact name and phone number with your specimens in the event questions arise during the clearance process. Report all suspicious inquiries related to wildlife collection you or your institution receive to the Service law enforcement office nearest to you. With cooperation from the Scientific Community, we can take the science away from the smugglers.

PARTNERS IN PALEONTOLOGY IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT CONSERVATION AREA
Robert E. Reynolds, Curator of Earth Sciences, Sen Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Barstow Field Office and the Earth Science Section of the San Bernardino County Museum (SBCM) work together in various levels of paleontology resource management at the type locality of the Barstow Formation in the California Desert Conservation Area. The Barstow Formation, which contains fauna that represents the Barstovian Land Mammal Age, has been prospected and quarried to almost 90 years. Ongoing erosion continues to expose significant taxa from back dirt derived from historic quarries and from natural outcrops. Under BLM permit, the SBCM curator of Earth Science and volunteers conduct cyclic prospecting for new specimens and specimens from known productive localities.

Abundant specimens from known localities are retrieved from gridded sites. Repeated collection helps monitor erosion rates. Taphonomic excavation from gridded bone beds is accompanied by matrix washing to recover small mammals. Supervised volunteers also conduct a replication program for track ways susceptible to damage by weathering. The Curator conducts field and laboratory classes in Paleontologic techniques that focus on specimen preparation, identification, and specimen cataloging. These classes and participation in paleontology laboratory work are required before volunteers can participate in field projects. Specimens and taphonomic data from the collection are studied by volunteers who present posters and papers at the annual SBCM Desert Research Symposium. Posters are also exhibited at museums in the western United States, special exhibitions, conferences, and rock and mineral shows. These displays introduce the avocational public to the concept that individuals and families can have an enjoyable educational experience working with fossil finds from public lands in a BLM-permitted, museum-managed environment.

PREPARATION AND CURATION COSTS: THE HIDDEN EXPENSES IN VERTEBRATE FOSSIL CARE
Carrie L. Herbel and Michael T. Greenwald, Museum of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD

After vertebrate fossils are collected in the field, many remain on shelves or in storage facilities awaiting preparation, curation and long-term care. These efforts are often time consuming and are more costly than field excavation/collection. The amount of time estimated to prepare and curate fossil specimens ranges from 18-24 months for every month spent in the field. These figures may differ from site to site depending on rock matrix and the condition of the fossils. Funding for fossil care is often overlooked when land managers, budget planners, and researchers determine budgets as this work is conducted in laboratories and collection rooms. Personnel wages, purchase of supplies, equipment, and cases, and the long-term maintenance of specimens in temperature and humidity-controlled collection rooms are costly undertakings.

Since 1994, the Museum of Geology received funding from Badlands National Park under a Cooperative Agreement between the Park and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. These funds have been used to hire students to conduct fieldwork, prepare fossils in the laboratory and to curate specimens from a unique Oligocene site, nicknamed the Pig Dig, within the Park. This site contains skeletal elements from rhinos, giant pig-like animals, small horses, and deer encased in an easy-to-remove mudstone. By September 1996, Park funding levels dropped, causing closure of this important site. However, Museum staff convinced the Park of the necessity to take care of specimens previously collected. Student preparators hired under this segment of the project worked an estimated 2720 hours during two academic years. By April 1998, over 1,033 fossils have been prepared and curated (identified, sorted, cataloged, and placed in specimen cases). These fossils range from single teeth to complex skulls and vertebral columns. The total time spent on all aspects of this process has been calculated at 2.6 hours/specimen. A total cost per element prepared and curated from this site is $27.62. After a review of the curated portion of these collections by Park personnel in the Spring of 1998, the value of this work was recognized, for the collections were well prepared, organized and housed in an appropriate manner meeting NPS collection standards. Specimens are now well organized and easily available for educators and researchers, something that was virtually impossible with the specimens encased in plaster and burlap jackets.

A total of 806 jackets and bagged specimens were collected over a five summer period. Approximately 340 jackets, some containing well over 100 bones, remain to be prepared and curated. The costs stated above do not take into consideration the supervisory role (i.e. salary) of the Museum's Collection Manager, the long-term care give to specimens in the collections, nor the volunteer hours contributed towards this project. However, these factors should be taken into consideration when determining budgets for care of fossil resources in the future.