Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month from September to May at 7:00 PM, if a speaker is available or unless otherwise notified. Meetings are held in Room 128 of Dixie State University’s Snow Math and Physical Building. Field trips are conducted generally on a Saturday during the month when there is no speaker available or when the opportunity arises. See the News & Events page for more information.
We generally have a guest speaker who gives a talk immediately after the membership’s business meeting. Attendance varies: between 20 and 45 people per meeting. Many of us volunteer at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site as preparators or guides. Our chapter advisor is St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site Curator and Paleontologist, Andrew R.C. Milner. Guests are always welcome and all UFOP meetings are free and open to the public.
President: Steve Stephenson
Treasurer: Craig Morgan
Secretary: Position needs a volunteer to fill Elisabeth Nipperus’ shoes
Advisor: Andrew R.C. Milner
arcmilner(at)gmail.com
435-590-4190
The Southwest Chapter was established by Andrew Milner in Cedar City on November 17, 1999, and the first speaker was Jim Kirkland, the State Paleontologist of Utah with the Utah Geological Survey.
In February 2000, Dr. Sheldon Johnson, while leveling a hill on his private farmland in St. George, overturned many large blocks of Moenave Formation rock which contained abundant fossilized dinosaur tracks of exceptional quality. Dr. Johnson was committed to preserving these tracks and the State of Utah Geological Survey and the city of St. George became involved in the preservation effort.
In October 2001, Andrew Milner was hired by the city of St. George to direct the recovery and preservation efforts at the dinosaur track site, now the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. Several of the Chapter’s members have been involved in the discovery and preservation efforts of the fossils or as docents at the Dinosaur Discovery Site since the tracks were discovered in 2000.