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3 Bid to Sort Fossils Dug Up by Developers

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

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.

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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.

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