Welcome to NARGPaleo.org
online home of the North America Research Group (NARG)

Dedicated to scientific research and public education;
NARG is structured as an IRS non-profit public
charitable 501(c) (3) organization.

Our Origin: Around a campfire in the summer of 2004 five men discussed how we might contribute to science as we pursued our passion collecting fossils. This core crew of men collaborated to develop the North America Research Group.

Since our inception, and in a very short period of time, NARG has grown into a diverse and dynamic group of men and women sharing a mutual respect and passion for geoscientific study and fossil collecting. Our international membership ranges from 10 to 80+ years in age. This adventurous consortium of individuals has an amazing variety of backgrounds, interests, hobbies, educations, and professions; including biology, oceanography, paleontology, paleobotany, and geology.

NARG sponsors the NW Fossil Fest and participates in many programs and shows devoted to public education. We collaborate with university scientists and museums to enhance and promote research. Significant specimens are donated to recognized museums to insure they remain in the scientific and public domain.

We believe that research and boots-on-the-ground exploration will locate the next great specimen in our region. Join us in search of the next new species. They are out there!

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Significant NARG Discoveries and Projects

Small Things Matter! Chimaeroid Egg Capsule
	July 2009 NARG Campout – While exploring a Keasey formation talus slope in the Nehalem drainage, intrepid 5th year member Steve Hetrick (The Virginian) scored big-time. Splitting siltstone boulders on the slope, he discovered a puzzle. What is this thing? Flora, Fauna? Click this link to find out.
Oregon Miocene Baleen Whale – CONSTRUCTION ZONE
	Late October of 2007 found NARG members excavating a late Miocene whale skull rostrum from the Empire Formation near Coos Bay, Oregon. Members have worked during the intervening 2½ years to curate, stabilize and de-construct the specimen from shrinking matrix, and to prepare and begin re-construction of the rostrum parts. Upon completion this specimen will be donated to the University of Oregon . Whale of a find - A day of discovery By Elise Hamner, City Editor and Susan Chambers, Staff Writer Video Video and Production by Lou Sennick About North America Research Group By Susan Chambers, Staff Writer Other fossil finds By Susan Chambers, Staff Writer NARG wants to extend it's appreciation to all those that participated, contributed, supported NARG in the whale recovery.
NARG Discovery Makes List of "Top 10 Dinosaur and Fossil Finds of 2007"
	In early 2008 National Geographic honored NARG by designating Oregon's Jurassic Crocodile the 2nd most significant fossil discovered worldwide in all of 2007. It is both humbling and stimulating to have received this award for our discovery. Well done! to our staff and crew for your efforts! National Geographic - Top 10 Dinosaur and Fossil Finds of 2007
NARG Participates in Significant Fossil Find in Oregon
	A fossil discovered by amateur paleontologists in Central Oregon is the lower jaw of a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that swam in the ocean that covered most of Oregon 90 to 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous. Plesiosaurs were primarily fish eaters and grew to a length of about 25 feet. The recovered specimen will be housed at the Museum of Geology in South Dakota. The museum staff is currently removing the rock from the fossil to determine the specimen's condition. The BLM is working with local entities to find a more permanent home for a replica for public education purposes. Read the News Release Now (551KB Adobe PDF)