students on the Lodgepole Limestone at the Sappington outcrop

 

2024 Stratigraphic Paleobiology Field Conference

Payment and paperwork

All conference members should update their memberships with the Paleontological Society. If you are not a member, you will need to become a member; the cost for students is a very reasonable $35. Once you have joined, please email us your membership number.

NSF is covering nearly all costs of the conference, and there is only a small fee to you of $100 for incidental items. The Paleontological Society will send you an invoice for this amount. Please pay this promptly, as this will serve as your final confirmation that you will participate in the conference. Part of this fee will go towards course T-shirts, so email us your T-shirt size.

Throughout the course, you will also be expected to follow the Paleontological Society Code of Conduct. Please sign this code of conduct form, and email it to to Mark Patzkowsky and Steven Holland.

For most of the conference, we will stay at the Indiana University’s Judson Mead Field Station (IUGFS), and there is a form that must be completed, which includes guest information, a code of conduct, and a liability waiver. Follow the instructions in red on the bottom of the first page for how to submit this form to Indiana University. Indiana University must receive your completed form by 1 June.

During the last few nights of the course, we will stay in motels in Winifred and Bozeman. We need to book the rooms and will do so with consideration of gender identity. Email us with whether you prefer a room for men or women; if you have other needs, let us know.

Send your flight information to us as soon as you have it, including airline, flight numbers, and departure and arrival times. If your flight has multiple legs, include this information for each leg. If you are driving to Bozeman rather than flying, please let us know.

To sum up, please email the IUGFS forms to Indiana University, and email both of us (Mark and Steve) the following:

Travel

The conference will be taught from 1 July through 14 July. You will need to make your own travel arrangements for Sunday, 30 June and Monday, 15 July.

Please make reservations to fly into Bozeman, Montana. You should arrive into Bozeman no later than 6:00 PM on Sunday, 30 June. You may fly out of Bozeman as early as you wish on Monday, 15 July. We will return all rental cars and all remaining students to the airport by mid-morning on 15 July, so bear that in mind if you schedule a late flight that day.

It is your responsibility to arrange travel to and from the Bozeman airport. If you do not have funds for this, please work with your home institution to obtain travel support. If a shortfall remains, the Paleontological Society has limited funds for this purpose. Please contact us in this case.

We will provide transportation to get you to the field station from the Bozeman airport when you arrive, and to get you to the Bozeman airport for your flight home.

Once you have purchased your ticket, email your complete flying itinerary (airline, flight numbers, departure and arrival times, including all connecting flights) to Mark Patzkowsky (mep12@psu.edu) and Steven Holland (stratum@uga.edu).

Equipment

Please bring the following field equipment, which you will carry with you every day in the field:

You will also need the following:

Clothing

In early July, the weather in Montana is pleasant. Mornings and evenings are often cool, but afternoons can be hot. Afternoon showers are always a possibility. It is best to have several lightweight layers of clothes, so that you can adjust during the day. We will typically work far from the vehicles, so you will need to carry everything you need during the day.

We recommend that you pack the following clothes for the field conference:

If you have any questions about gear, don’t hesitate to ask us. We want you to be confident and prepared, but you shouldn’t overpack, as luggage space is limited. You should aim to fit everything into a duffel bag and your field pack.

We will be in the field or at the field station most of the time. We plan to go into town only once (Whitehall, Montana, and there’s not much there!), so you should arrive with everything you need for the conference.

Life at the field station

You will be housed in a dormitory at the Judson Mead Field station in the Tobacco Root Mountains, northwest of Yellowstone National Park. The field stations has a dining hall, study spaces, computer work areas, wash houses, and laundry facilities. Check the field station for more website for more information, especially the links in the menu for IUGFS Campus and Daily Schedule.

You will be provided a bed, but you will need to bring your own bedding. Students usually bring a sleeping bag and small pillow.

On most days, breakfast is served at 7:00 AM, and dinner is normally served at 6:30 PM. Meal times are short, so you need to be there as soon as meal times start. Before breakfast, you will pack your lunch from a spread provided in the dining hall. Accommodations can be made for vegetarians and those with allergies or medical conditions. If you have stricter dietary requirements (e.g., vegan), these will have to be made at your own expense. Please let us know well in advance about any special dietary needs.

You can receive mail while at the field station at this address:
   IUGFS
   Attn: your name
   633 S. Boulder Rd.
   Cardwell, MT 59721

Questions?

If you have questions, email Mark Patzkowsky at mep12@psu.edu or Steve Holland at stratum@uga.edu.