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Education and Resources
fieldtopicalconferences

Field & Topical Conferences

Past Conferences

SVP First North American Summer Field Conference — Summary
Hanna and Carbon Basins, South-central Wyoming

SVP First Topical Conference Co-sponsorship
Neogene Terrestrial Mammalian Biostratigraphy and Chronology in Asia

"Sheep Rock" original oil painting by Margaret Willis

"Sheep Rock" Original oil painting of Sheep Rock by Margaret Willis

SVP Field Symposium 2010
John Day Basin Field Conference
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon
June 7 - 11, 2010

Dates
Summer 2010 - JUNE 7 to JUNE 11 — This includes travel days on Monday, June 7, and Friday, June 11. Participants fly (or drive) to Redmond, Oregon on Monday, June 7. Conference hotel offers full shuttle service from airport to lodging. Trip begins on Monday, June 7, with an orientation dinner in the banquet room of the conference hotel, the Redmond Comfort Suites, at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday (June 8 - 10) will be the field trip itself.

NOTE: Participants should make their travel arrangements to accommodate being
in Redmond at the conference hotel for the orientation dinner at 7 p.m.

Synopsis
This trip will follow the footsteps of Marsh, Scott, Cope and Merriam into the John Day Basin. Within this large geographical area are more than 750 documented major localities spanning more than 45 million years. A thick section of volcaniclastics, seemingly straightforward but remarkably complex, will be scrutinized at several classic exposures. Over the course of three full days of cruising in a luxury bus that will serve as something of a traveling seminar hall, we will have a unique opportunity to physically engage with the rocks, fossils and landscapes that have emerged as one of the most significant Tertiary fossiliferous basins in the world. Although only a fragment of the range of temporal and paleoecological vistas will be explored on this trip, due to its size, participants will be able to visualize the nature and extent of the area and the importance — both realized and potential — of the paleobiological resources entombed in this basin. Read the detailed schedule.

Cathedral Rock. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

TRANSPORTATION
One large luxury bus will be used for all participants. This bus has a restroom on board, PA system and TV monitors for leader and guests to lecture and discussions to take place while in transit, if so desired. Because of the long distances traveled each day (average 150 miles), the remoteness of the John Day Basin, and the number of participants, one bus will present less of a footprint than several separate vehicles (there will be two escort vehicles as well for support). Most of the travel will be on paved highways with multiple stops. This way all participants will have access to the guided information from the leaders in one "traveling auditorium."

ACCOMMODATIONS
Conference Hotel for Monday and Thursday:
Comfort Suites Airport
2243 SW Yew Ave
Redmond, Oregon 97756
Phone: 541-504-8900
www.comfortsuites.com

A group rate has been negotiated for trip participants of $87 per room, plus taxes, regardless of number occupants (thus, folks that "double up" will save money). When making reservations please mention "SVP John Day field trip" to get this rate. Participants are responsible for making and paying for their own reservations for Monday night and Thursday night. The hotel has a free shuttle service to and from the Roberts Airfield in Redmond (situated less than three miles distance).

(Remember to please book flights early into Redmond to attend orientation dinner at 7 p.m.)

What IS included in the registration fee for trip

All transportation from the Redmond airport to the hotels, throughout the John Day Basin and back to the Redmond hotel Thursday evening.
Lodging for Tuesday and Wednesday — the Best Western in John Day and Camp Hancock Field Station, respectively.
All meals are provided starting with the catered orientation dinner on Monday night at conference hotel.
[This includes continental breakfasts, box lunches, dinners (no-host bar available at "banquet" in Canyon City) and 2 coffee/tea breaks each day.]

What is NOT included in the registration fee for trip

Participants are responsible for transportation to and from the Redmond Airport and their lodging for Monday and Thursday nights. We have negotiated excellent rates for these evenings, however. The contact information for individual participants to make their own reservation is above.
Participants will be responsible for their own dinners once we return to Redmond Thursday night. There are restaurants within easy walking distance and the hotel has a free shuttle service within a 2-3 mile radius.

What to bring

Blue Basin. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Participants should bring layers of clothing encompassing anything from dry and hot afternoons to cold and rainy evenings and mornings. Expect any type of weather in the John Day Basin in June. Gear that we consider mandatory in the area includes:

Waterproof jacket
Good field boots (for those opting for the extended hiking opportunities)
Sunscreen clothing and/or sunblock and hats
Sleeping bag: Camp Hancock is a field station. Lodging that night will be on cots in a bunkhouse with a separate bathhouse.
As always, a hand lens, digital camera, gps unit, etc. are very useful. Some of the excursions are within NPS boundaries and collecting is not possible during these portions of the trip. An opportunity to collect leaves and lower vertebrates from the private Bridge Creek site may be available.

registration
REGISTRATION FEE FOR THE TRIP IS $430.

There will be a maximum of 55 participants.

Participants have been selected from the pool of applicants.

IMPORTANT! Please register by April 15.

Conference Leader: Theodore Fremd
Coordinator (logistics): Skylar Rickabaugh
Co-Coordinator: Barry Albright

Questions? Contact Theodore Fremd at: tfremd@uoregon.edu