Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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I've got a sad story for you here today. It's the story of a National Park that died. It's the story of Fossil Cycad National Monument: a park that no longer exists. But, while it it's a sad story, it's also a cautionary one, and a reminder that we can never take our National Parks for granted.

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Sources and Resources:
nps.gov/articles/fossil-cycad-national-monument.htm
nps.gov/articles/000/centennial-commemoration-for-the-creation-of-fossil-cycad-national-monument.htm?utm_source=article&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=experience_more&utm_content=small
irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/639954
nationalparkstraveler.org/2008/08/pruning-parks-delisted-over-half-century-ago-fossil-cycad-national-monument-1922-1956-cautionary-tal2805
sdpb.org/blogs/history/fossil-cycad-the-national-monument-that-wasnt
capjournal.com/news/a-south-dakota-mystery-who-stole-the-fossils-from-fossil/article_a6e3f620-9abb-11e3-a584-001a4bcf887a.html
npca.org/articles/1008-gone-but-not-forgotten
atlasobscura.com/articles/fossil-cycad-national-monument-stolen-george-wieland

Images and Music:
Storyblocks
Yale University
NPS
USGS
Science Museum of Trento
George Wieland
Library of Congress
The Smithsonian
Calvin Photographic Collection, University of Iowa