3 Bid to Sort Fossils Dug Up by Developers

It’s the attic-cleaning job from hell--a shabby warehouse with stacks of sagging boxes. And no telling what’s inside them without a cataloging system to track the thousands of items--maybe a prehistoric headless walrus-like creature or, say, a 22-million-year-old baleen whale fossil.

But there is suddenly a line for the grunge detail--a three-year project to sort, protect and display Orange County’s long-neglected fossils and artifacts.

Three organizations have submitted proposals to take on the $420,000 archeological and paleontological curatorial job--Cal State Fullerton, Discovery Works Inc. of Irvine and the Orange County Natural History Assn. in Laguna Niguel.

In March, The Times reported that the county had been dumping artifacts into a jammed warehouse. Some artifacts are stuffed into boxes piled four deep on the floor; others are exposed to the sun and wind.

In June, after a public outcry, the county approved funding to hire a curator. Supervisors will review the three proposals and hire the consultants with the best plan.