Why did you close the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center?
The visitor center was built in 1957 on unstable soil, and the building has had structural problems for many years. A formal monitoring program began in May 2006. The detailed inspection identified some previously unknown conditions that present serious life, safety and health hazards. Because of those concerns, park management made the difficult decision that the prudent course of action would be to close the building until all alternatives can be evaluated rather than continue to put park visitors and employees at risk.

Is the park still open?
Dinosaur National Monument's 210,000 acres are open to the public. The only part of the park that is closed is the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center.

What can we do?
We have moved the visitor services and activities to the Outdoor Visitor Center by the visitor parking lot. Many of the replica fossils have been moved to the Outdoor Visitor Center so that people can view and touch them. We have a makeshift auditorium set up and show a video about the fossil wall and paleontologists at work. The Junior Ranger and Junior Paleontologist programs are available at the Outdoor Visitor Center. Rangers are available at the Outdoor Visitor Center to answer questions and present programs.

What about the rest of the park?
There are a variety of hikes of different lengths in Dinosaur. Two of the local river companies offer one-day river trips through Split Mountain Canyon. There are two self-guided auto tours. One originates at the Outdoor Visitor Center and the other begins at the Canyon Area Visitor Center. The Harpers Corner Road travels 32 miles one-way from the Canyon Area Visitor Center over Blue Mountain to look down on the spectacular Yampa and Green River canyons. Visitors can see the confluence of the two rivers, and those who venture out early in the morning or in the evening have a great opportunity to view elk, mule deer and pronghorn.

What are the plans for the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center now?
Because no one is left in the building to observe changes, it is essential that the monitoring program continue. Because the monitoring report includes extensive recommendations for structural repairs, a short-term temporary fix using limited funding does not appear to be a viable option. This will be studied , however, during the alternative formulation and evaluation process.

Evaluations, schematic alternatives and cost estimates will be developed over the summer and fall of 2006. A presentation will be made to National Park Service leadership, who will suggest which alternatives we should concentrate on. Those alternatives will be available for public review and comment. We hope to have an environmental impact statement ready for public review early in 2007. This process will allow us to develop a long-term sustainable solution for the building.