Thread by @BenWinslow

ICYMI, here's your sneak peek at the new Utahraptor State Park! fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

This was such a fun story to do. @UtahDNR and @UtahStateParks had us down to check out the site, about 15 miles outside of Moab in the Dalton-Wells area: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

The new Utahraptor State Park is the site of MASSIVE dinosaur fossils.

They found a thing called "the megablock" there. Check it out. These are Utahraptor teeth and claws! fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

FYI, you know the velociraptors in the "Jurassic Park" movies? Paleontologists say that's really more like what the Utahraptor was (the actual velociraptor was much smaller).

Just something for reference: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

.@Paleojim says we've maybe explored 10% of what the Utahraptor State Park has of fossils and the new state park designation will help preserve the land for scientific work: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

Beyond dinosaur discoveries, there's historic artifacts too: Utahraptor State Park is the site of Japanese "isolation" camp from WW2.

@JaniIwamoto says it was for Japanese-Americans deemed "bad ones" for speaking out against their incarceration: fox13now.com/news/local-new… #utpol

The area is used and loved now, but @UtahStateParks says it's loved a little *too* much.

The state parks designation means they can put in proper trails, bathrooms, trash pickup, etc.: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

.@CityofMoab and Grand County are hugely supportive of Utahraptor State Park. They say it's a wonderful new outdoor experience, and may be able to take some pressure off of nearby @ArchesNPS: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

But there is a little disagreement about whether Utahraptor State Park should serve as a second entrance to @ArchesNPS.

Locals say that could make things worse. Others disagree: fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

With $36 million from the #utleg, @UtahStateParks will start infrastructure work now on Utahraptor State Park. It’ll formally open in 2022. Here’s a view from *whispers reverently* SkyFOX! fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah

Thanks for having us down, @UtahDNR, @UtahStateParks and @CityofMoab! Photog Vanessa and I had a great time! fox13now.com/news/local-new… @fox13 #utpol #Utah