Theodore E. White, formerly with the Smithsonian Institution and with Harvard University, was placed in immediate charge, under the supervision of Jess H. Lombard, the superintendent of the National Monument. His task, and that of his associates, was to expose the remaining specimens in the quarry wall and work them out in bas-relief. A shelter had been built over the working space and power tools were introduced for the first time. Using compressed air, the rock was scaled off with jackhammers and “paving-breakers,” until most of the overburden had been removed. Subsequent probing into the bone layer was done with smaller chipping hammers, mallet, and chisel. This operation continued through 1954 and 1955 as, slowly and carefully, the extent of the skeletal material was determined. It comprised parts of several large dinosaurs, sufficient in quantity to justify the next step—the construction of a building to enclose the quarry face. Erection of this unusual structure, the first of its design to be attempted, commenced in 1957 and it was opened to the public in the following year. Now, as one of the many development projects in its MISSION 66 program, the National Park Service has resumed the delicate work of uncovering this corner of the ancient world and preserving it in-place for all time. The Scene Today If you stand at the overlook, you will see the Green River, Split Mountain, and a rolling plain to the south that stretches to a hazy line of mountains. To many, it is an unfamiliar land that lies strangely subdued beneath a blazing sun and an intensely blue sky. That blue sky is the key to the kinds of plants and animals that live in this part of the monument. They live most of their lives under blue sky, and, even when clouds do form over the mountains and drift across the lowlands, the results are disappointing. A high wind, dust and sand, a few drops of rain, and the storm is over. The climatic conditions under which local plants and animals live are conditions of extremes. On summer days the temperatures may rise above 100°, although the nights are usually cool. During the winter, temperatures may skid to 30° below zero or more. It is not uncommon for the thermometer to remain below zero for weeks on end. But the most influential climatic factor is water—and there is little of it. The total yearly precipitation is a little less than 8 inches! It is interesting then to find such a wide variety of plants and animals that not only survive but flourish under such rigorous conditions. The methods used by plants in adapting to arid conditions are interesting and varied. The wide-spreading, shallow root system and thick stem of the cactus enhance collection and storage of water. These strange plants are quite plump with stored water in the spring when the snows melt, but they gradually lose this plumpness during the dry summer, and by autumn many seem lifeless.