Agate Fossil Beds Administrative History

President Johnson Signs Public Law 89-33

On June 2, 1965, Mrs. Margaret C. Cook wrote Superintendent Keith Miller and offered the Agate Post Office as an interim headquarters. Reasoning that few patrons came since the advent of thrice-weekly mail delivery and that the structure was fenced off from the cattle feed lot, she added, "It should be a pleasant, shaded place for a headquarters while permanent arrangements are pending." [31]

The offer came at a propitious time. Three days later, on June 5, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed P.L. 89-33. With the program clearly spelled out in Congress, no special lobbying of the White House was necessary. The Act authorizing Agate Fossil Beds National Monument was finally Federal law. [32] Agate Fossil Beds' legislative purpose is:

to preserve for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the outstanding paleontological sites known as the Agate Springs Fossil Quarries, and nearby related geological phenomena, to provide for continuing paleontological research and for the display and interpretation of the scientific specimens uncovered at such sites, and to facilitate the protection and exhibition of a valuable collection of Indian artifacts and relics that are representative of an important phase of Indian history.

Two pens the President used to sign the bill were sent to Margaret Cook and Father Robert O'Neill. [33]* In a congratulatory telegram from Omaha, Regional Director Lon Garrison stated: "The passage of the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument bill has been a cooperative endeavor. Your time and effort through personal interest and the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Association were a contributing factor in its passage. My personal thanks for this interest and your help." [34]

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*The third pen President Johnson used was given to Senator Roman L. Hruska. Hruska donated it to the National Park Service in 1986. See Honorable Roman L. Hruska (former U.S. Senator from Nebraska), interview with author, Omaha, Nebraska, 26 June 1986, transcript, pp. 5-6.

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Even before the bill got to President Johnson's desk, Margaret C. Cook appealed to Senator Hruska for help in getting a National Park Service ranger onsite as soon as possible. Hruska, foreseeing this need, had already submitted a formal request to the Park Service. He reported, "I am advised that the proposal is being given consideration... and [I] am very hopeful that some arrangement will be made. If there is any difficulty about this, please advise, and any assistance you desire will be forthcoming." [35] In fact, as early a April 22, Hruska requested Senator Carl Hayden, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations, to provide funds for Agate Fossil Beds development during the mark-up sessions of the Department of the Interior's Fiscal Year 1966 budget. Hruska explained:

The need for promptness in providing funds is based on an agreement by the NPS with Mrs. Margaret C. Cook, occupant of the Agate Springs Ranch which is to be used as headquarters of the Monument. [She will donate the Cook Collection] provided the proposal for the Monument is realized by January 1, 1967... by which date it is hoped that the Monument will be a "going concern" as a tourist attraction. It is my thought that, if an initial appropriation can be made for the fiscal year 1966, this whole timetable can be met. [36]

Four days following the President's action, a meeting was held in Omaha between Regional personnel and Keith Miller to establish the objectives of the new park by completing the draft Master Plan. The process was finished on June 11, signed by Regional Director Garrison, and forwarded to the Washington Office for approval by Director George Hartzog.