T.-Rex at Fort Peck Lake

Lake: Fort Peck Project, MT

Partners: USACE; Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center & Museum; Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman; Charles M Russell National Wildlife Refuge; Montana

Corps POC: Darrin Mcmurry, Park ranger

Story: The past comes alive with a roar at Nelson Creek in Fort Peck, Montana where a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was discovered in a joint recovery sponsored by the Corps and the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Fort Peck Interpretive Association, Inc., the Corps is building an interpretive center to give T. Rex a new home. Visitors will learn about fossils, the third largest National Wildlife Refuge (Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge) in the lower 48 states, riparian habitat, ancient Native American cultures, and Lewis and Clark. When it was finished in 1938, Fort Peck Dam was the world's largest hydraulically earth-filled dam in the world. Over 10,000 workers earned up to 50 cents an hour for six years to excavate and build it. The projected grand opening of the interpretive center is 2004.

What our partners are saying: "It has been a rewarding adventure to work with the Corps of Engineers and the other federal agencies involved with the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center & Museum development and now its construction.  The Corps has given the decision-making process back to the people it serves by involving them in the process.  They have proven the citizens' input is as important as that of the division's commander." - Larry Mires, Past President, Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center & Museum, Inc.