By: Jeff Beach

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A dig at a site believed to have mammoth bones shows it is worthy of further excavation, according to the North Dakota Geological Survey. 

Mammoth bones were first discovered at the site in northwest North Dakota in 1988 during the construction of a garage. The North Dakota Geological Survey and state Historical Society returned to this site in September to confirm that mammoth bones are there. 

Senior Paleontologist Clint Boyd said the fossil dig near the garage aligns with what construction workers reported and that there are likely more bones beneath the garage. 

A dig below the garage would require money from the Legislature to move a portion of the garage, dig beneath and then restore the garage.

Boyd said there has been “great collaboration” with the property owner, who is not the same owner that built the garage. 

Boyd reviewed the mammoth dig site and other archaeological explorations Tuesday with the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees the agency. 

Boyd said the woolly mammoth was likely not yet an adult and is about 13,500 years old, right about the time that evidence shows the first humans living in North America. He said no evidence of human activity has been found at the site. 

MCKENZIE COUNTY, N.D. — At least 3,880 barrels of produced water, roughly 162,960 gallons, was spilled by a leaking pipeline six miles west of Arnegard on Sunday, Nov. 24. The spill has impacted nearby agricultural land.

Operator Caliber Midstream reported the spilled produced water, according to a release from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Produced water is a by-product of the oil and gas industry.

The full impact of the spill is yet unknown, according to the release, but state personnel have inspected the spill site and will continue to monitor both the investigation and corrective action.

“Federal and state laws require that operators report the spillage of any materials that may pollute water, air or soil,” the release said.

For more information, you can visit

spill.nd.gov.

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A dig at a site believed to have mammoth bones shows it is worthy of further excavation, according to the North Dakota Geological Survey. 

Mammoth bones were first discovered at the site in northwest North Dakota in 1988 during the construction of a garage. The North Dakota Geological Survey and state Historical Society returned to this site in September to confirm that mammoth bones are there. 

Senior Paleontologist Clint Boyd said the fossil dig near the garage aligns with what construction workers reported and that there are likely more bones beneath the garage. 

A dig below the garage would require money from the Legislature to move a portion of the garage, dig beneath and then restore the garage.

Boyd said there has been “great collaboration” with the property owner, who is not the same owner that built the garage. 

Boyd reviewed the mammoth dig site and other archaeological explorations Tuesday with the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees the agency. 

Boyd said the woolly mammoth was likely not yet an adult and is about 13,500 years old, right about the time that evidence shows the first humans living in North America. He said no evidence of human activity has been found at the site.