On March 15, 1993, historical consultant John W. Bond submitted a 24-page nominating report to the U.S. National Parks Service proposing that the Hadrosaurus foulkii site in Haddonfield, New Jersey, be declared a National Historic Landmark. Mr. Bond, who lives in nearby Cherry Hill, is the former Chief of Historic Preservation for the Mid-Atlantic region of the National Parks Service. His nomination explained in part:
"The Hadrosaurus foulkii Leidy site is regarded as nationally significant from a natural history point of view as well as a historical one. In 1970 the site was evaluated by Dr. John H. Ostrom, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, as part of a study for the National Park Service on 'Mesozoic Vertebrate Paleontological Sites for Possible Inclusion in The Registry of National Landmarks.' Ostrom concluded that, 'the Haddonfield site is one of great scientific and historical importance...(and) is given the highest possible rating.'"
Declaration of National Status, October 12, 1994
In a January 18, 1995, letter to Robert C. Shinn, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, Barry Mackintosh, Acting Chief Historian of the National Parks Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior, wrote:
"I am pleased to inform you that the Hadrosaurus foulkii Leidy site in Haddonfield, Camden County, New Jersey, has been found to possess national significance in the history of the United States. As a result, the Secretary of the Interior designated it a National Historic Landmark on October 12, 1994."
"The purpose of landmark designation is to identify and recognize nationally significant sites and to encourage their owners to preserve them. Landmarks are chosen after careful study by the National Park Service. They are evaluated by the National Park System Advisory Board and designated by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966."
"Designation as a National Historic Landmark automatically places a property in the National Register of Historic Places and extends to it the safeguards and benefits provided by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and other Federal laws protecting historic properties."
"We are pleased to include the Hadrosaurus foulkii Leidy site on the roll of National Historic Landmarks as a significant representative of our Nation's heritage."
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