In the summer of 1969, a federal district court ian Denver, Colorado, heard arguments in one of the nation's first explicitly environmental cases, in which the Defenders of Florissant, Inc. opposed real estate interests intent on developing lands containing an extraordinary set of ancient fossils.
Saved in Time: The Fight to Establish Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado, the first account of the fight to preserve the Florissant fossil beds, tells a story of environmental activism that remains little known more than forty years after the coalition's victory. The principal author, Estella Leopold, was a major participant in the process.
"Reads like a mystery thriller wherein a handful of committed environmentalists forestall the destruction of America's premier fossil beds. Brings to mind John Nichols's The Milagro Beanfield War and Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. It is a true story with a happy ending (unless you're a real estate developer)."
- Jack Loeffler, author of Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey